Gillibrand touts women’s suffrage commission
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand came to the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site at ValKill on Friday to promote the “Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission Act.”
The act, which the New York Democrat is co-sponsoring and said has bipartisan support, would establish a Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission in honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. The commission would work with local and state government, the federal governments, private organizations and Congress to develop and coordinate educational activities for Americans to learn about the suffrage movement, Gillibrand said. She said it would provide grants that support organizations in the Hudson Valley and across the country commemorating the centennial of the 19th Amendment.
“This legislation would help educate and inspire young people around the country about the unparalleled importance of the women’s suffrage movement in American history” Gillibrand said in prepared remarks delivered at Val-Kill. “The women’s suffrage movement was born in New York, women’s rights were championed by the strong and brilliant Eleanor Roosevelt, and nearly a century after the 19th Amendment was passed and ratified, our state continues to be at the forefront of fighting for women’s rights . ...
“The 19th Amendment changed the world for the better, and it deserves our commemoration,” the senator said. “I will urge all of my colleagues in the Senate to support the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission Act.”
The legislation to create the commission is co-sponsored by all 14 Democratic women in the Senate and Republican Sen. Sue Collins of Maine..