Equality Caucus Slams GOP’s Politicization of Women’s History Museum Bill

Chair Takano calls GOP effort “poisoned, partisan pony show”

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Republicans on the Committee on House Administration replaced bipartisan language in H.R. 1329, the “Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act,” with partisan language that included an anti-transgender provision. Following the vote to report the bill out of committee with this new partisan language, Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus released the following statement:

“Rather than moving forward with a simple, bipartisan bill to authorize a location for the American Women’s History Museum, Republicans on the Committee on House Administration couldn’t resist poisoning the bill with an anti-trans rider and a provision giving Trump unilateral control over the building’s location,” said Rep. Mark Takano, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Let me be clear: the Museum should highlight the experiences of all women, including transgender women. The original bill, however, had nothing to do with the content of the museum until Republicans added this partisan rider. It’s beyond disappointing to see years of hard, bipartisan work be flushed down the toilet by Republicans on this committee in order to stage a show vote. If Republicans truly cared about celebrating women’s history and ensuring a site for this museum, they would have moved forward with the original bipartisan text—which I and more than 100 of my Democratic colleagues cosponsored—rather than this poisoned, partisan pony show.”


BACKGROUND
H.R. 1329, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act, would authorize the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum to be located within the Reserve of the National Mall. The underlying bill is bipartisan, but according to Rep. Malliotakis, Speaker Mike Johnson has been holding it up.

Rather than moving this bipartisan bill as is with over 200 cosponsors, Republicans on the Committee on House Administration adopted a partisan amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS) filed by Rep. Mary Miller. Among other provisions—like giving President Trump unilateral authority to disregard the Smithsonian’s recommended site and pick his own—the ANS adds a “scope of mission” that states that the Museum will be focused on the history, achievements, and lived experiences of “biological women” and that the Museum may not identify, present, describe, or otherwise depict transgender women as women. This would bar the museum from including transgender women or girls. The bill does not include a definition for “biological women” but could be used to ban depictions of intersex women as well (i.e., women who have variations in their sex characteristics that do not fit typical conceptions about female bodies). 

This bill has been worked on carefully as a bipartisan effort for years, and this amendment throws out that progress to attack trans women and to give President Trump the keys to the American Women’s History Museum.