U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) celebrated after a bill she co-sponsored that would ensure that the Women’s Suffrage National Monument is located on the National Mall was signed into law.
President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act into law on January 4, officially authorizing a commemorative work to commemorate the women’s suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
The bill, filed as H.R.1318, was sponsored in the Senate by Blackburn and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and in the House by U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO-02) and former Arizona Congresswoman Debbie Lesko.
My legislation with @SenatorBaldwin was just signed into law.
The Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act authorizes the construction of a monument on the National Mall dedicated to the work of the suffragettes. pic.twitter.com/CuzZiJkuZE
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 6, 2025
“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. As the Volunteer State’s first female United States Senator, I’m pleased that the women who pioneered the way for future generations, like Susan B. Anthony, will finally receive the recognition they deserve on the National Mall,” Blackburn said in a statement.
Lesko, who has since retired from Congress, also said she was “honored” to have sponsored the bill, adding, “I am excited to see the creation of this new monument on the National Mall to celebrate American female heroes!”
Last week, the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act was signed into law. I was honored to be the lead Republican sponsor of this bill in the U.S. House, and I am excited to see the creation of this new monument on the National Mall to celebrate American female heroes!
— Debbie Lesko (@DebbieLesko) January 9, 2025
The creation of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument on the National Mall will mark the very first monument dedicated to American women.
Among the 40 current monuments on the Mall, 22 are dedicated to individual men, ten to military history and veterans, three to foreign relations, two to private organizations, one to U.S. postal history, one to the history of the United States’ canals, and one to the history of horses on the Mall.
“We want all Americans to appreciate the work that went into women gaining that right to vote,” Blackburn previously said on the Senate floor.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
