# Understanding the Portrait Monument Bill

There's a famous statue in the U.S. Capitol building called the "Portrait Monument" that honors three pioneers of women's suffrage: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott. When it was first presented to Congress in 1921 to celebrate women winning the right to vote, it came with an inscription—basically a plaque with words explaining the significance of these women and their movement. But here's the odd part: shortly after the statue was unveiled, Congress thought the inscription was too controversial and removed it. The statue stayed in the Capitol's basement for decades before being moved to the main rotunda in 1997, but the inscription was never put back. This bill simply directs Congress to restore that original inscription to the statue.

The practical effect is straightforward: within one year of this resolution passing, the Joint Committee on the Library (the group that oversees Capitol artwork and monuments) must add the original inscription back onto the statue. The inscription is a lengthy, poetic passage celebrating the women's suffrage movement and the three women honored by the monument. Congress will also hold a formal ceremony in the Capitol rotunda to unveil the restored inscription, with the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader choosing the date together. The bill authorizes whatever funding is needed to make these changes happen.

For everyday people, this doesn't directly affect your life or wallet in any meaningful way. It's essentially Congress deciding to complete a historical correction—restoring words that were removed nearly a century ago because they were considered too bold or controversial at the time. It's a symbolic gesture acknowledging that the original message about women's equality and rights deserves to be seen and read by visitors to the Capitol.

Directing the Joint Committee on the Library to revise the statue commemorating women's suffrage which is located in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, commonly known as the "Portrait Monument", by placing on the statue an inscription which is based on the original inscription which was on the statue when the statue was delivered to the United States Capitol in 1921, and for other purposes.

Maloney, Carolyn B.

 <p>This concurrent resolution directs the Joint Committee on the Library to modify the statue, known as the Portrait Monument, commemorating women's suffrage and located in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol by placing an inscription on it that is based on its original inscription from when it was delivered to the U.S. Capitol on February 10, 1921.</p> <p> The concurrent resolution also authorizes the use of the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol for a ceremony to unveil the revised Portrait Monument.</p>