The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill establishing a council that will lead the planning, design, and construction of a new museum slated for Washington, D.C. dedicated to women's history. 

The bill—H.R. 1980, Smithsonian Women's History Museum Act—passed the house chamber by a 374-37 bipartisan vote. The bill now heads to the United States Senate for final approval. 

The Act creates a 25-person advisory council made up of scholars, congressmembers, and museum board members that will report to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Museum with recommendations on how to proceed with the creation of the new facility, which will funded half by the federal government and half by other sources. In part, CNN reports, this board will be tasked with designating a site for the future museum, with sites on or near the National Mall given the highest priority. 

A joint statement from the bill's sponsors reads, "By creating a Smithsonian museum dedicated to telling American women's history, we can inspire future generations to make history themselves. Representation matters. Let's make sure that every child can see themselves in their heroes and role models. We will be working together to ensure swift Senate passage of this bill."

In part, the museum is being created "to more accurately depict the history of the United States" by highlighting the fact that "since its founding, the United States has greatly benefitted from the contributions of women," according to the text of the resolution. Among the goals of the museum are to highlight the "life, art, history, and culture of women," the "role of women in the history of the United States," and the "contributions of women to society."

The museum can't come too soon, as the text of the bill makes clear, women are woefully underrepresented among the nation's monuments. The text, for example, states that only "9 statues out of 91 in the United States Capitol’s National Statuary Hall depict women," and "only one of the 44 monuments operated by the National Park Service specifically honors the achievements of women." 

That singular monument, the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument located in Washington, D.C., was created in 2016 and consists of a 200-year-old home once used as headquarters of the National Woman's Party, a group that helped enshrine women's suffrage into the United States Constitution.