H.R. 1329 explained · 119th Congress · Pending in Congress
Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act
Cosponsors: 231 (127 D, 104 R) · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-08
Introduced: 2025-02-13
Latest action (2026-05-21): Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
What H.R. 1329 does, in plain terms
Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act This bill authorizes the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum to be located on a particular site within the Reserve of the National Mall in Washington, DC. Specifically, the bill designates the South Monument site as the location for the museum; however, the President may designate an alternative site within 180 days of the bill's enactment. (The site is the undeveloped land across the National Mall from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.) Administrative jurisdiction of the site must be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution must have the approval of specified federal entities (e.g., the Commission of Fine Arts) to plan, design, and construct a museum building. The bill (1) outlines the criteria for considering site and design proposals, and (2) requires the Smithsonian Institution to reimburse for costs resulting from the building approval process. The bill directs the museum to be dedicated to preserving, researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in the United States. Under this bill, the museum may not identify, present, describe, or depict any biological male as a female. In carrying out its duties, the museum's advisory council must (1) seek and utilize guidance from a broad array of knowledgeable and respected sources reflecting the diversity of the political viewpoints and authentic experiences held by women in the United States, and (2) seek guidance for the creation and substantial revision of exhibits and programs.
Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.
Constitution Index
“VFA Constitution grade”
Constitutionally sound
Graded 2026-10-08
SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology
Federal siting of a Smithsonian museum on federal land in the District is within express congressional powers, creates no private restriction, takes no property, and uses government speech to define a museum mission.
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✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
Congress has explicit authority over federal property and the seat of government. Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 gives Congress power to dispose of and make needful rules respecting property belonging to the United States, and Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 gives exclusive legislation over the District constituting the seat of government. Siting a Smithsonian museum on the National Mall Reserve … -
✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
No private speech is restricted. The limitation to presenting biological women, and barring presentation of a biological male as a female, governs the content of a government-created museum, which is government speech under the First Amendment. The government may define the mission of its own institutions. No establishment of religion, no prior restraint on press, assembly, or petition, and no 2nd… -
✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
The bill does not regulate what any private person may do, say, believe, publish, or build with their own person, property, labor, or belief. It defines the curatorial mission of one federal museum. Private museums, publishers, scholars, and citizens remain free to present competing views. The government bears no additional burden here because no private liberty is restricted. -
✓ Passes · Decentralization
The action concerns federal property in Washington, DC, under exclusive federal jurisdiction per Article I, Section 8, Clause 17. (1) An individual or family cannot site and build a national Smithsonian museum. (2) A local county cannot manage the National Mall Reserve. (3) A state cannot manage District federal land. (4) No consolidation upward occurs beyond the minimum necessary level, which is … -
✓ Passes · Due process and takings
No person is deprived of life, liberty, or property without Fifth Amendment due process. No criminal presumption, hearing right, or notice right is implicated. Transfer of administrative jurisdiction over federal land between federal custodians is not a private taking, and no private property is taken for public use. The reimbursement requirement for building-approval costs is a prospective fundin…
Sources: Congress.gov: HR 1329 summary
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