Bennet, Bipartisan Senators Introduce Legislation to Place Women’s Suffrage National Monument on National Mall

Washington, D.C.- Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) to introduce the Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act, bipartisan legislation to ensure that the Women's Suffrage National Monument is located on the National Mall. This bill builds on Bennet's 2019 billauthorizing the Women's Suffrage National Monument, which became law in 2020. In 1893, Colorado became the first state to extend the right to vote to women by popular referendum.

"American history has been a struggle between our highest ideals and our worst impulses, and between the promise of equality and the reality of inequality. This bipartisan legislation recognizes and commemorates our nation's long journey toward securing equality for all," said Bennet. "The National Mall has been the site of historic calls for progress, and this monument deserves this most dignified location in both our nation's capital and our nation's history."

In 2020, Bennet passed his legislation to create the Women's Suffrage National Monument on federal lands in Washington, D.C. Under current law, a specific act of Congress is required to place a new commemorative work or visitor center on the National Mall. Once completed, the monument will commemorate the women's suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.

"Just over a century ago, the United States finally welcomed women into our democracy and extended to them its most fundamental right - the right to vote. But we know that this milestone was only accomplished through a decades-long fight led by women of all backgrounds joining arm and arm, including women of color who fought alongside their white counterparts even though many of whom were still denied the right to vote after the 19th Amendment was ratified," said Baldwin. "I am honored to introduce this bipartisan legislation to ensure that the monument that honors the suffragettes and fight for women's right to vote is housed in its rightful place for the world to see, the National Mall. The National Mall is home to memorials for those who fought for our freedom, Presidents who defined our country, and the seat of our government, and it is only fitting that it also houses the Women's Suffrage National Monument. Wisconsin has been at the forefront of the fight for women's rights and I am proud to be continuing this long and proud tradition."

"Tennessee has played a critical role in the women's suffrage fight since we became the 36th and final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment - granting women the right to vote. I'm pleased to join Senator Baldwin in this bipartisan legislation that will ensure the Women's Suffrage Monument is given its rightful place on the National Mall and honors the work of Susan B. Anthony and the trailblazers who fought ardently for future generations of women," said Blackburn.

"The two-mile stretch of land that reaches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial is known as the National Mall," said Anna Laymon, Executive Director of the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation."Flanked by the White House, our national cultural institutions, and the halls of government, the National Mall is where 'we the people' showcase our history. It is the land that holds our national memory. And yet, walking the grounds of the National Mall today, you will encounter war memorials and monuments honoring civil rights heroes and past presidents. You will stand in awe of the giants who have earned their place in our national story. But you won't see women. With the support of Congress, that is all about to change."

The push for this monument originated in Loveland, Colorado, through a community-led effort. On the 100th anniversary of the Senate's passage of the 19th Amendment, Bennet introduced bipartisan legislation to install a Colorado artist's sculpture commemorating pioneers for women's suffrage in the nation's capital. The sculpture would feature Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Alice Paul, and Ida B. Wells, and would become the first outdoor monument to commemorate the women's suffrage movement. In December 2020, this legislation passedthe Senate after passing the House.

The text of the bill is available HERE.