National Latino museum has bipartisan support

WASHINGTON — Legislation to create a museum on the National Mall honoring the achievement of Hispanics has garnered 290 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House, a supermajority that makes it likely the idea will get a vote.

“Since long before the British arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, the Latino community has played a pivotal, foundation role in the building of our nation,” said Danny Vargas, chairman of the board of Friends of the American Latino Museum.

Nevada’s House delegation —

Democrats Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford and Republican Mark Amodei — are all co-sponsors of the bill, which would allow a 50-50 public-private partnership to build a museum equal in size to others managed by the Smithsonian Institution.

“The history of our country is not complete without the story of the Latino community,” Titus said.

She noted that contributions on the baseball diamond, in the labor movement, in music and on the U.S. Supreme Court “should be honored in our nation’s capital.”

Companion legislation in the Senate has 27 co-sponsors, including

Nevada Democrats Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, who made history by becoming the first Latina elected to the upper legislative body.

Latinos make up 29 percent of the population of Nevada, which has more than 3 million residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics for 2019.

The legislation, filed by Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has not been given a cost estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@ reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.