House passes bill to establish a national women's history museum

A museum dedicated to women's history is one step closer to join the monuments and museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly last week to approve a bipartisan bill called the Smithsonian Women's History Museum Act. Now it heads to the Senate. As the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, the House voted 374-37 to establish a national women's history museum under the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Supporters said they would work to get the bill passed quickly in the Senate. "For too long, women's history has been left out of the telling of our nation's history," the lead sponsors of the bill, Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney, Brian Fitzpatrick, Brenda Lawrence and Eleanor Holmes Norton, said in a statement. "Today, the House of Representatives took an important first step to change that. Women are part of every American moment, and their contributions should be recognized and celebrated."