Menendez shot again at Lee, saying that he was standing “in the way in which of the hopes and goals and aspirations of seeing Individuals of Latin
Menendez shot again at Lee, saying that he was standing “in the way in which of the hopes and goals and aspirations of seeing Individuals of Latino descent having their goals fulfilled and acknowledged.”
“I don’t know if these arguments had been made in opposition to the Native Individuals. I don’t know if these arguments had been made in opposition to African Individuals, however I don’t see them as being separate and aside,” Menendez mentioned. “I see them as a part of the collective historical past mosaic that’s coming collectively underneath the Smithsonian.”
Earlier this yr, the Home for the primary time handed laws that might create a Smithsonian museum dedicated to Latino Individuals. The Senate Guidelines Committee additionally accepted the laws, which is co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), unanimously. The Home additionally voted overwhelmingly in February to go laws to create a girls’s historical past museum. However Lee’s transfer drastically reduces the probability the payments will go Congress this session.
Following Menendez, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) tried to go the Smithsonian Ladies’s Historical past Museum Act within the Senate by voice vote. In her ground remarks, Collins highlighted the recognition of the Smithsonian’s African American and Native American historical past museums and famous {that a} bipartisan fee beneficial the creation of a museum “showcasing the historic experiences and the influence of girls” in america.
However Lee once more blocked the measure.
The Utah Republican mentioned that whereas “all racial, ethnic, spiritual teams in America are worthy of celebration, even to the extent of getting their very own museums,” he argued that in “many situations” these museums don’t take federal {dollars}.
“There’s a model that comes together with the Smithsonian Establishment and some huge cash that’s taken from the American folks within the type of tax income,” Lee mentioned. “And so on account of that, the Smithsonian Establishment has a singular position.”
Collins described Lee’s actions as a “unhappy second.”
“I had hoped that we may proceed with each of those payments and go them earlier than the tip of this yr,” Collins mentioned. “Absolutely in a yr the place we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of girls’s suffrage, that is the time. … I remorse that that won’t happen this night, however we won’t quit the battle.”