Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3531) to authorize the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3531, the Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act, introduced by Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton. And I thank Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton for the work that she has done to make sure that all women are recognized and that we have a way of focusing that recognition through this memorial.

This bill would authorize the establishment of a memorial to commemorate the nearly 19 million women who worked on the home front during World War II. With mass male enlistment leaving significant vacancies in the industrial and defense agencies, women across the country filled thousands of jobs that were historically held by men to support the war effort and to keep America running.

As the men fought abroad, these women worked in defense plants, flew military aircraft, delivered mail, and performed countless other duties necessary to keep the home front running.

In addition to the women working on the home front, nearly 350,000 women served in uniform, both at home and abroad--directly supporting the war effort as codebreakers, Airforce Service Pilots, and as volunteers for organizations such as the Army Nurse Corps.

The work carried out by women on the home front during World War II opened the door for women to hold more types of jobs than ever before, and it is long past time that Congress recognizes the contributions to our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for introducing this important legislation. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Ms. Raya Kenney, who developed the idea for this memorial when she was in fifth grade, and for her tireless efforts to ensure that the millions of women who worked on the home front during World War II are recognized and celebrated.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3531, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), the sponsor of the bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am so grateful to Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton because she knows how to listen to brilliant women no matter the age. We really need to thank Ms. Raya Kenney for coming up with the idea. Precisely, as we have heard on the floor of the House today, it was not just Rosie the riveter, it was a complex participation of women in the workforce.

In New Mexico, they were participating by running the ranches, they were participating in our national labs on defense issues and some of the most complex scientific discoveries that helped us win the war.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3531, the ``Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act.''

I would first like to thank my colleague, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, for introducing this important legislation to honor these women.

This bill authorizes the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia in commemoration of the commitment and service represented by women who worked on the home front during World War II.

This important legislation would authorize a memorial in honor of these women and their service to our nation, right here in the Nation's capital.

During World War II, over 18 million American women kept the home front running in support of the country's overall war effort.

Not only did they give their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers to the war effort, they gave their time, energy, labor, and some even gave their lives.

Beyond providing support for their children at home and men at war, the committed women on the home front stepped forward to assume the work and duties needed to keep the country running, most of these jobs were not available to women before the war.

Between 1940 and 1945, the age of ``Rosie the Riveter,'' the percentage of women in the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945, nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home.

World War II opened the door for women to work in more types of jobs than ever before.

These women were not only instrumental to the war effort, but they showed the country and the world what women were capable of, fundamentally changing the path for future generations of women.

Eisenhower himself said, ``The contribution of the women of America, whether on the farm or in the factory or in uniform, to D-Day was a sine qua non [or necessary for] . . . the invasion effort.''

These women were fundamental to our defeat of the Axis Powers, and I fully support this legislation's passage to honor their valiant efforts.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3531 offered by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, authorizes the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation to establish a commemorative work in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the commitment and service of millions of women during World War II.

During World War II, roughly 12 million women worked in defense industries and support services across the Nation. Women served in critical professional roles in shipyards, steel mills, foundries, warehouses, offices, and hospitals.

Women worked as codebreakers, aircraft testing pilots, trainers, welders, riveters, telegraph operators, radio and electrical engineers, crane operators,

surveyors, assembly line workers, and many other jobs that kept America running.

In recent years, Congress established the Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park in California to highlight the incredible contributions of women to the war effort. Authorizing this commemorative work in our Nation's capital is another fitting tribute to the brave, strong, and intelligent women that helped us win the war.

Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers on my side, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as I listened to the testimony about the bill today, I thought about all of the women that I was around growing up who were part of that war effort at home during World War II and the jobs that they did that were critical to the war effort.

I think about Representative Burchett's mother from Tennessee who flew planes in World War II. My counsel's grandmother, Mimi Hart, was a codebreaker in World War II, and I think it is fitting that we recognize all these women as they are getting up in years and we are losing a lot of them.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman for bringing this bill forward. I urge adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank both of my friends for their kind remarks on my bill, the Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act. As my friend has just said, this is really an unusual bill because it came to me from a fifth grader. I am particularly pleased and proud to speak in favor of her bill, the Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act. This is all her idea, including getting the funds for the memorial.

This bill would authorize the establishment of a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia commemorating the efforts of the 18 million American women who kept the home front running during World War

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.