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House Passes Bill to Name Post Office After Jeannette Rankin

The Missoula-born Republican was the first woman to hold federal office in the United States

By Associated Press

MISSOULA – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to name a Montana post office building in honor of Jeannette Rankin.

The Missoulian reported Thursday that the approval came Wednesday to rename the building after the Missoula-born Republican known as the first woman to hold federal office in the United States.

Officials say the bill was introduced to both the House and Senate in March.

Rankin was elected to Congress in 1916 and reelected in 1940.

Officials say she secured the right to vote for women in Montana in 1914, six years before ratification of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote nationwide.

A stretch of Interstate 90, a hall on the University of Montana campus, elementary schools, a park and peace center carry her namesake.