IN SR0055

Honors Congresswoman Virginia Jenckes on the 80th anniversary of the end of her tenure as Indiana's first female U.S. Representative.

Jenckes was born November 6, 1877, in Terre Haute, Indiana, and managed a 1,300-acre farm after her husband's death in 1927.

Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1932 to 1938 as one of eight women in Congress, campaigning to end alcohol prohibition and raise corn prices.

During her tenure, Jenckes voted to repeal prohibition, secured $18 million in flood control funding for the Wabash River Basin, advocated for veterans' rehabilitation and workers' rights, and voted for the Social Security Act.

After three terms in Congress, Jenckes settled in Washington, D.C., volunteering for the American Red Cross and helping priests escape Hungary during the 1956 uprising before returning to Terre Haute, where she died January 9, 1975, at age 98.