Score another one for President Joe Biden

Even as he prepares to leave office, President Joe Biden has taken another important step toward recognizing women for their role in making significant contributions to the United States. On Saturday, Biden signed the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act, which authorizes placing the overdue monument on the National Mall. It reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to recognizing the hard work and dedication of all Americans and advancing equality.

The monument, which will stand in a prominent, accessible location, will commemorate the ratification of the 19th Amendment as well as honor both leaders and “generations of women” who fought for equal rights. Biden’s signature comes months after he issued an executive order asking the Department of the Interior to assess the state of women’s representation in the National Park Service (NPS). As I wrote at the time, this effort involved the first full review of women’s history by the NPS throughout U.S. history, as it aimed to consider women from a diversity of backgrounds who have made significant contributions to the nation.

In its path to Biden’s desk, this bill has enjoyed bipartisan support, beginning with a unanimous House vote in November 2023, along with the support of every living First Lady. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Cynthia Lummis and Katie Britt, four Republicans who were the first women to represent their states in the U.S. Senate, summarized the need for such a moment in an opinion piece for The Washington Post in March.” After pointing out that of the 40 monuments on the Mall, 22 are dedicated to individual men, 10 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 another to the history of horses on the Mall, “one thing is missing,” the concluded: a tribute to women.

As Biden noted this weekend in a statement, “Vice President Harris and I are committed to defending equal rights for all Americans, to strengthening the federal government’s recognition of women’s contributions to our nation’s history, and to inspiring the next generation to create a more equal future for all.” The greenlighting of this monument reflects the administration’s enduring legacy of respect for history and inclusion.

Ron Leshnower

Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month