WASHINGTON, DC – As we approach the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 18th, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today introduced a bill that would posthumously bestow women's rights leader Alice Paul with a Congressional Gold Medal. From Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Alice Paul inspired others globally, including by staging a hunger strike to protest unequal rights for women.

“Alice Paul’s inspiring legacy reverberates far behind the borders of our home state – she inspired a nation and brought about revolutionary changes for the women around the world,” said Sen. Menendez. “I believe a Congressional Gold Medal to be a fitting honor for the person who stood tall for women’s rights her whole life. Alice Paul’s perseverance for gender equality teaches each subsequent generation that justice is worth fighting for.”

Lucienne Beard, Executive Director of the Alice Paul Institute which is based at Paul’s birthplace in New Jersey, said, “The Congressional Gold Medal is a fitting tribute to Alice Paul’s lifelong work for legal equality for all Americans. She is truly a champion of the rights expressed in our Constitution. National recognition of her achievements for women’s suffrage and civil rights is a step toward raising awareness for the need to complete her life’s mission: achieving full equality for all citizens with the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.”

Menendez’ bill is also co-sponsored by Cory Booker (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn), Al Franken (D-Minn), Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Alice Paul started the National Women’s Party and was instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Paul, a devout Quaker, not only led her fellow suffragists on a three-week long hunger strike, but also organized one of the first groups ever to picket the White House. In 1923 Paul wrote the 24 words that would become the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), to enshrine in the Constitution the equal protection under the law regardless of a person’s sex. The ERA passed Congress in 1972, but failed to be ratified by a sufficient number of states. For the last four Congresses, Senator Menendez has sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment in the Senate and is committed to working to get equal rights for women guaranteed in the Constitution.

Additionally, Paul’s resolve led to the inclusion of sexual discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Though best known for her endless work toward ratifying the 19th Amendment, she also fought for gender equality around the world. Her efforts facilitated the establishment of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, and she played a crucial role in the placement of a passage on gender equality in the preamble of the United Nations Charter.

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