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119-HR-2290 DC Insider Whip Count Analysis

119 · HR 2290 World War II Women's Memorial Location Act

park Public Lands and Natural Resources
World War II Women's Memorial Location ActThis bill allows the commemorative work for women who worked on the home front during World War II to be located in either (1) the Reserve, an area that...

H.R. 2290 cleared the House on Dec. 9 by voice vote under suspension and was referred to Senate ENR on Dec. 10. With Republicans holding a 53–47 Senate and Thune controlling floor time, the cleanest path is hotline and unanimous consent on the House-passed bill. ENR is chaired by Mike Lee; National Parks Subcommittee is chaired by Steve Daines, and the Senate companion (S.1088) already received subcommittee attention. Precedent (GWOT Memorial exception) and bipartisan sponsors (Shaheen/Blackburn) point to broad support, though institutional concerns about further encroachments into the Reserve persist among NPS/NCPC and some process hawks. Net: high likelihood of passage via UC this work period or early next, with Area I/Reserve language intact. [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…[2]U.S. Senate — Senate.gov — Party Division (lists 119th Senate as R-53 / D-45 /…[3]Office of Sen. John Thune — Sen. John Thune — First remarks as Senate Majority…[4]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — National Par…[5]Congress.gov — Congressional Record Daily Digest — Dec. 8, 2025 (lists Dec. 9 S…[6]govinfo.gov — GovInfo — S. Rept. 117-51 (GWOT Memorial Location Act; Reserve ex…

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DC Insider
Published
11 Dec 2025
Updated
11 Dec 2025
Tags
whip-count · Senate · House
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01 · Section

Breakdown — expected support/opposition

Institutional context: the House passed H.R. 2290 by voice vote under suspension on December 9, 2025; the measure was received in the Senate on December 10 and referred to Energy & Natural Resources (ENR). Republicans hold a 53–47 Senate, with John Thune as Majority Leader. [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…[2]U.S. Senate — Senate.gov — Party Division (lists 119th Senate as R-53 / D-45 /…[3]Office of Sen. John Thune — Sen. John Thune — First remarks as Senate Majority…

  • Overall outlook: Broadly bipartisan. House voice passage under suspension is a strong proxy for minimal organized opposition. In the Senate, commemorative siting bills commonly move by unanimous consent (UC) when uncontested. [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…
  • Republicans (Senate): Likely yes across most of the conference. Committee gatekeepers are Republicans (ENR Chair Mike Lee; National Parks Subcommittee Chair Steve Daines). GOP floor leadership (Thune) can hotline the House bill if there are no holds. [7]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — Chairman pag…[4]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — National Par…[3]Office of Sen. John Thune — Sen. John Thune — First remarks as Senate Majority…
  • Democrats/Independents (Senate): Strong support signaled by Senate companion sponsors Jeanne Shaheen and Tammy Duckworth; National Parks Subcommittee Ranking Member Angus King is positioned to assist. [8]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — S.1088 text (Shaheen/Blackburn/Duckworth)[4]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — National Par…
  • Issue content: The bill grants a targeted exception under the Commemorative Works Act (CWA) to allow placement in Area I or within the Reserve; such exceptions are unusual but have precedent (e.g., Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act via the FY22 NDAA). [9]LII (Cornell) — 40 U.S.C. §8908 — Areas I and II; Reserve prohibition[10]Web search · turn 5 #0[6]govinfo.gov — GovInfo — S. Rept. 117-51 (GWOT Memorial Location Act; Reserve ex…
  • Institutional pushback vectors: National Park Service/NCPC have historically opposed Reserve encroachments; that posture may surface but typically does not defeat a bicameral, bipartisan directive. [11]Department of the Interior — U.S. Dept. of the Interior — testimony opposing Re…[12]National Capital Planning Commission — NCPC — Memorials & Museums Master Plan (…
Senate party split
53R (47 D/I) [2]U.S. Senate — Senate.gov — Party Division (lists 119th Senate as R-53 / D-45 /…
House passage
1Voice vote under suspension (Dec. 9) [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…
Primary Senate sponsors (companion)
3Shaheen/Blackburn/Duckworth [8]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — S.1088 text (Shaheen/Blackburn/Duckworth)
Primary committee of referral
1Senate ENR (Chair: Mike Lee) [7]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — Chairman pag…
Bloc Expected posture Why
Senate GOP Supportive with isolated procedural concerns Committee leadership is Republican; subject is low-cost/veterans-adjacent; prior Reserve exception precedent exists (GWOT). [7]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — Chairman pag…[4]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — National Par…[6]govinfo.gov — GovInfo — S. Rept. 117-51 (GWOT Memorial Location Act; Reserve ex…
Senate Dems/Independents Supportive Companion sponsors include Shaheen and Duckworth; Subcommittee ranking (King) engaged. [8]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — S.1088 text (Shaheen/Blackburn/Duckworth)[4]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — National Par…
Institutional stakeholders (NPS/NCPC) Skeptical of Reserve siting Standing planning policy resists new memorials in the Reserve. [12]National Capital Planning Commission — NCPC — Memorials & Museums Master Plan (…
02 · Section

Key legislators — pivotal for outcome

These members have direct procedural leverage or are positioned to resolve objections.

  • Mike Lee (R-UT), ENR Chair — controls hearings/markups and can facilitate or slow committee clearance. Public posture emphasizes conservative land-use governance; as Chair his consent to move the House bill by committee discharge or quick markup is pivotal. [7]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — Chairman pag…
  • Steve Daines (R-MT), National Parks Subcommittee Chair — first-touch jurisdiction on siting; his subcommittee docket has been actively processing parks/memorial items this month. [4]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — National Par…
  • Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) & Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), lead Senate sponsors — bipartisan validators with equities to push UC clearance; their companion bill (S.1088) helps anchor support. [8]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — S.1088 text (Shaheen/Blackburn/Duckworth)
  • Angus King (I-ME), Subcommittee Ranking Member — likely to help manage Democratic side agreements and expedite consent. [4]U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources — Senate ENR — National Par…
  • John Thune (R-SD), Majority Leader — can hotline H.R. 2290 and clear UC; with a 53–47 majority, he can also burn floor time if needed, but UC is the efficient path. [3]Office of Sen. John Thune — Sen. John Thune — First remarks as Senate Majority…[2]U.S. Senate — Senate.gov — Party Division (lists 119th Senate as R-53 / D-45 /…
  • House side validators — Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Natural Resources Chair, and Jared Huffman (D-CA), Ranking Member, advanced a bipartisan committee report that frames the bill as a limited, purpose-built exception; this strengthens Senate confidence. [13]govinfo.gov — House Report 119-284 — World War II Women’s Memorial Location Act[14]Web search · turn 15 #2
03 · Section

Leadership influence and procedural dynamics

Leadership positions and calendars determine whether this moves by UC this work period or slips to early 2026.

  • Senate control: Republicans hold the majority; Thune is Majority Leader; Schumer leads Democrats. Thune’s office has highlighted an active majority agenda and routinely touts bipartisan UC wins on low-controversy items. [2]U.S. Senate — Senate.gov — Party Division (lists 119th Senate as R-53 / D-45 /…[3]Office of Sen. John Thune — Sen. John Thune — First remarks as Senate Majority…[15]Web search · turn 2 #7
  • Committee path: H.R. 2290 sits in Senate ENR; the Senate companion S.1088 was on the National Parks Subcommittee’s Dec. 9 agenda alongside other memorial/park items — a signal ENR is comfortable moving siting bills this window. ENR can either (a) mark up H.R. 2290 quickly, (b) discharge by UC and take it to the floor, or (c) pass S.1088 and backfill in the House (less efficient now that the House bill is across the Capitol). [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…[5]Congress.gov — Congressional Record Daily Digest — Dec. 8, 2025 (lists Dec. 9 S…
  • House posture: The bill cleared under suspension (40 minutes debate; voice vote), a leadership-managed track for consensus measures — a positive cue to Senate managers. [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…
  • Substance/procedure interface: The CWA’s default prohibition on new works in the Reserve (40 U.S.C. §8908(c)) creates a need for explicit statutory language; H.R. 2290 provides it, mirroring the approach Congress used for the GWOT Memorial exception. [9]LII (Cornell) — 40 U.S.C. §8908 — Areas I and II; Reserve prohibition[6]govinfo.gov — GovInfo — S. Rept. 117-51 (GWOT Memorial Location Act; Reserve ex…
04 · Section

Assessment — likelihood of passage

Bottom line from a vote-count and procedure perspective.

  • Likely floor vehicle: H.R. 2290 (House-passed) via unanimous consent after ENR clearance or discharge. If an objection surfaces, leaders could set up a short debate and pass on a simple majority; cloture would require 60, but it is unlikely leadership will burn time on a contested commemorative bill absent a named hold. [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…[3]Office of Sen. John Thune — Sen. John Thune — First remarks as Senate Majority…
  • Substantive comfort: Bipartisan Senate champions and a House report framing this as a narrow exception mitigate Reserve-policy concerns; the bill also allows Area I as a fallback, which may mollify purists. [8]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — S.1088 text (Shaheen/Blackburn/Duckworth)[13]govinfo.gov — House Report 119-284 — World War II Women’s Memorial Location Act
  • Timing: With referral on Dec. 10 and subcommittee attention to the companion on Dec. 9, the window is open for pre-recess clearance; if not, early January is a clean pickup. [1]Congress.gov — Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vot…[5]Congress.gov — Congressional Record Daily Digest — Dec. 8, 2025 (lists Dec. 9 S…
  • Confidence: High — absent a specific UC hold.
Sources cited
  1. [1] Congress.gov — H.R. 2290 All Actions (shows 12/9 House voice vote; 12/10 Senate referral) Congress.gov
  2. [2] Senate.gov — Party Division (lists 119th Senate as R-53 / D-45 / I-2) U.S. Senate
  3. [3] Sen. John Thune — First remarks as Senate Majority Leader (press) Office of Sen. John Thune
  4. [4] Senate ENR — National Parks Subcommittee page (Roster; Chair Daines; Ranking King) U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
  5. [5] Congressional Record Daily Digest — Dec. 8, 2025 (lists Dec. 9 Senate National Parks Subcommittee agenda incl. S.1088) Congress.gov
  6. [6] GovInfo — S. Rept. 117-51 (GWOT Memorial Location Act; Reserve exception) govinfo.gov
  7. [7] Senate ENR — Chairman page (Mike Lee) U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
  8. [8] Congress.gov — S.1088 text (Shaheen/Blackburn/Duckworth) Congress.gov
  9. [9] 40 U.S.C. §8908 — Areas I and II; Reserve prohibition LII (Cornell)
  10. [10] Web search · turn 5 #0
  11. [11] U.S. Dept. of the Interior — testimony opposing Reserve siting (S.535, 117th) Department of the Interior
  12. [12] NCPC — Memorials & Museums Master Plan (Reserve policy) National Capital Planning Commission
  13. [13] House Report 119-284 — World War II Women’s Memorial Location Act govinfo.gov
  14. [14] Web search · turn 15 #2
  15. [15] Web search · turn 2 #7

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