The House passed a bill on Monday to add to the National Mall a museum dedicated to American Latinos.
The National Museum of the American Latino Act passed by a voice vote Monday morning and had nearly 300 co-sponsors in the Democrat-controlled 435-member body. If passed by the Senate and signed by President Trump, the bill would establish a board of trustees responsible for finding a location for the museum, coming up with a construction plan, and advising the Smithsonian Board of Regents for fundraising efforts for the project.
“I am incredibly proud that, during my final term in office, I have been able to lead the effort in the House to make the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino a reality,” the bill’s main sponsor, Rep. José E. Serrano, a New York Democrat, said in a statement.
Pew Research said that Latinos make up 1 in 6 people in the United States. A 1994 report by the Smithsonian Institution found that Latino stories were underrepresented in its 17 museums in Washington. In 2008, President George W. Bush stood up a commission to look into creating a museum and released a report in 2011, but movement stalled for nearly a decade.
Similar bills have been unsuccessfully introduced in the past. Serrano resubmitted the bill in May. Danny Vargas, chairman of the Friends of the American Latino Museum Board, said the passage of this legislation would mean Latino American stories now have a chance to be told to all visiting America’s capital.
“More than ever, every American would benefit from a more complete picture of the history and our great country and all the communities who sacrificed to build her,” said Vargas. “Now we stand at the precipice of enshrining an enduring institution that will fill the missing pages from our history books and inspire countless future generations to come.”
A bipartisan Senate companion bill has been endorsed by Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada, as well as Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
“Now, we call on our colleagues in the Senate to follow the House’s lead and finish the job by immediately considering H.R. 2420,” said Serrano.
