Honoring Female Congressional Pioneers Act of 2006 - Directs the Postal Service to provide for the issuance and sale of a semipostal in order to afford the public a convenient means to contribute towards the acquisition (for public display) of works of art honoring Jeanette Rankin, Mary Teresa Norton, Patsy Mink, Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, and other female pioneers in government service.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5065 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5065
To provide for the issuance of a semipostal in order to afford a
convenient means by which members of the public may contribute towards
the acquisition of works of art to honor female pioneers in Government
service.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 30, 2006
Ms. Kaptur (for herself, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mrs. Maloney, Ms.
DeLauro, Ms. Solis, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms.
Millender-McDonald, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Lee, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida,
Ms. Waters, Ms. Norton, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Case,
Mr. Rehberg, and Mr. Owens) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the
Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the issuance of a semipostal in order to afford a
convenient means by which members of the public may contribute towards
the acquisition of works of art to honor female pioneers in Government
service.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Honoring Female Congressional
Pioneers Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) The 70 women currently serving in the House of
Representatives owe a debt of gratitude to all of their
foremothers who broke down barriers both in their election to,
and in the important legislative work they accomplished as
Members of, the House of Representatives.
(2) Four women in particular stand out for their status as
the ``first'' women in certain categories.
(3) In 1916, Jeannette Rankin broke new ground by becoming
the first woman elected to the House of Representatives,
representing the State of Montana, first from 1917 to 1919 and
later from 1941 to 1943.
(4) Jeannette Rankin's first election was all the more
remarkable, considering that it came 3 years before women's
suffrage was a legally guaranteed right throughout the United
States.
(5) Jeannette Rankin directly contributed to a woman's
right to vote when she introduced a resolution in 1919 to
support a women's suffrage amendment to the Constitution of the
United States.
(6) Jeannette Rankin remained true to her pacifistic ideals
both by voting against the declarations of World War I and
World War II--and in fact was the only Representative to vote
against the declaration of World War II--and by working
tirelessly to promote peace during her years outside of
Congress.
(7) In 1924, Mary Teresa Norton became the first Democratic
woman elected to the House of Representatives--and one of a
small number of women during that period who were elected in
their own right and not to replace their husbands--representing
New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District from 1925 to 1951.
(8) Mary Norton served as the chair of the Committee on the
District of Columbia from 1931 to 1937, effectively governing
the city which at that time had no municipal government of its
own.
(9) In 1934, Mary Norton became the first woman to chair a
major political party in a State as head of the New Jersey
State Committee.
(10) Mary Norton was instrumental in the drafting and
passage in 1938 of a major piece of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt's New Deal: the Fair Labor Standards Act, which
established a minimum wage, a maximum workweek, overtime pay,
and a prohibition on child labor.
(11) In 1964, Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first Asian-
American woman elected to the House of Representatives,
representing Hawaii's Second Congressional District from 1965
to 1977 and again from 1991 until her death in 2002.
(12) Patsy Mink secured an assignment to the Committee on
Education and Labor, for which her previous expertise and
interests made her well-suited, and used her time on that
Committee to introduce the first child care bill, as well as
bills to provide for bilingual education, student loans,
special education, and the Head Start program.
(13) Patsy Mink gained passage in 1965 of legislation to
support the construction of schools in the Trust Territory of
the Pacific Islands.
(14) Patsy Mink established the Democratic Women's Caucus
in 1995 and served as its first chair.
(15) In 1968, Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm made history
by becoming the first African-American woman elected to the
House of Representatives, representing New York's Twelfth
Congressional District until her retirement in 1983.
(16) Shirley Chisholm was a founding member of the
Congressional Black Caucus, a fierce advocate for women's
rights and democracy, and a staunch opponent of the Vietnam
War.
(17) Shirley Chisholm was an outspoken advocate for equal
rights, early childhood education, fair labor standards, and
the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday effort.
(18) Shirley Chisholm further cemented her place in history
when she became the first African-American person to seek a
major political party's nomination for President in 1972.
(19) There is a real need to honor these women and others
like them more often in our Nation's artistic and cultural
venues.
SEC. 3. SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP.
In order to afford the public a convenient means by which to
contribute towards the acquisition (for public display in the United
States Capitol and other appropriate locations) of works of art
honoring Jeannette Rankin, Mary Teresa Norton, Patsy Mink, Shirley
Anita St. Hill Chisholm, and other female pioneers in Government
service, the United States Postal Service shall provide for the
issuance and sale of a semipostal in accordance with section 416 of
title 39, United States Code, subject to the following:
(1) Disposition of amounts received.--All amounts becoming
available from the sale of the semipostal shall be transferred
by the Postal Service to the Capitol Preservation Commission
and the House Fine Arts Board (which is hereby authorized to
accept any such amounts) under such arrangements as the Postal
Service and those entities shall by mutual agreement establish
in order to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) No effect on authority to issue other stamps.--No
semipostal issued pursuant to this Act shall be taken into
account for purposes of applying any numerical limitation
established under section 416(e)(1)(C) of such title 39.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) the term ``semipostal'' has the meaning given such term
by section 416(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code;
(2) any determination of the ``amounts becoming available''
from the sale of the semipostal shall be made in accordance
with section 416(d) of such title 39;
(3) the term ``Capitol Preservation Commission'' means the
United States Capitol Preservation Commission, established by
section 801 of Public Law 100-696 (40 U.S.C. 188a); and
(4) the term ``House Fine Arts Board'' means the House of
Representatives Fine Arts Board, established by section 1001 of
Public Law 100-696 (40 U.S.C. 188c).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line