Sponsors (233)
The bill improves public access and aims for more inclusive women's-history exhibits on the National Mall while increasing congressional oversight but may accelerate land transfers and impose costs or curatorial constraints that could spark delays or disputes.
Members of the public—especially women, students, and visitors—gain a Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum sited on the National Mall Reserve, increasing public access and visibility for women’s history.
Women, schools, universities, and museum audiences will benefit from exhibits developed with input from a broad array of experts and diverse viewpoints, promoting more inclusive and representative programming.
Taxpayers and oversight bodies get increased transparency because the Council must report biennially to seven congressional committees on how diversity and representation requirements are implemented.
Taxpayers may incur unplanned costs due to retroactive effective dates and accelerated transfers for land, construction, or operations associated with siting and building the museum.
Museums, schools, and women's-history stakeholders could face curatorial constraints and legal complications because statutory definitions and required use of sources reflecting specified 'diverse political viewpoints' may limit curatorial discretion and slow exhibit development.
Federal and state agencies that now administer Reserve land may lose administrative control more quickly because the bill requires prompt transfer of jurisdiction to the Smithsonian.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows the museum to be sited on the National Mall Reserve, changes notification and land-transfer rules, requires defined outreach standards, and mandates reporting to Congress.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Nicole Malliotakis · Last progress February 13, 2025
Allows the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum to be located within the Reserve of the National Mall and changes prior 2021 authorization language to require faster administrative transfers and stronger, defined guidance on seeking diverse viewpoints. It replaces a prior exception, requires federal agencies to notify certain congressional committees and to transfer administrative jurisdiction to the Smithsonian “as soon as practicable,” and requires the Smithsonian Secretary to report to specified congressional committees within 120 days and then every two years about compliance with the new diversity/representation guidance. The changes are treated as effective retroactively to the enactment date of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.