As it stands, 120 cultural and nonprofit groups across the U.S. are rallying support for the creation of a Smithsonian museum of Italian American history in the nation’s capital. Leaders and members of the Italian American Congressional Caucus, in collaboration with the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO), spearheaded H.R. 1102, a bipartisan bill that, if passed, would create a commission to weigh the feasibility of funding, developing and operating the museum on Washington’s National Mall.

This commission would consist of experts in museum planning and the American immigrant experience, following a process modeled after similar initiatives that led to national museums honoring other ethnic communities.