House Advances Long-Stalled Plan for Women’s History Museum

The House of Representatives revived efforts to erect a National Women’s History Museum in Washington Wednesday, overwhelmingly approving plans to study the project’s feasibility, reports the Associated Press.

The bill, passed by a 383-33 vote, would establish a commission to study potential sites on or near the National Mall and recommend whether the museum should be part of the Smithsonian. Similar legislation is pending in the Senate.

At least twice in the past nine years, Congress has allowed legislation calling for a women’s museum to die. Unlike past bills, the current measure prohibits federal funding for the facility, helping it draw Republican support. Longtime backers of the effort say women have been largely left out of museums, national landmarks, and history education.

Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, who was recognized by the museum in an online exhibit three years ago, voted against the bill, saying on the House floor that the museum would “enshrine the radical feminist movement,” The Washington Post writes.