National Women’s Museum Plan Gains Ground in Congress

Bipartisan support is building on Capitol Hill for plans for a national museum of women’s history in Washington that would rely on private donations rather than taxpayer dollars to bring the project to fruition, The New York Times reports.

Speaking Tuesday at a House subcommittee hearing on their bill to authorize a search for a museum site on or near the National Mall, Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn said the institution would be philanthropically funded, addressing a point of contention that led Senate Republicans to block a similar 2010 measure.

Both the House and Senate have passed bills to advance the estimated $500-million project over the last decade, but never during the same Congress. The museum was first proposed by Ms. Maloney in the late 1990s. The current House measure has 85 sponsors, 37 of whom have signed on since Jan. 1, and it is supported by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, whose office said he will present it for a vote this year.