Barbara Mikulski: “While I am a realist, I'm probably the world's greatest optimist, and I am confident that this Congress will avoid that.”

It will be a proud day for our country when every girl who visits the National Mall is able to see herself represented amongst the giants of our national story.

Without a monument to the great women of American history who paved the way for us to fully participate in and shape our democracy, the telling of the American story on our National Mall is not yet complete.

We are safe, we are secure, and we are undeterred.

Nothing about me without me.