On International Women’s Day, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Jackie Speier, Co-Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, led a bipartisan group of House Members, including Democratic Women's Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), and Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI); Democratic Women’s Caucus Vice Chairs Rep. Veronica Escobar and Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX); and Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to schedule a vote on the Senate floor on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) this month in commemoration of Women’s History Month.
On March 17, 2021, the House of Representatives voted to eliminate the timeframe for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), in order to eliminate any doubt that the ERA has met the constitutional requirements for ratification and is now the law of the land. The House-passed resolution, H.J. Res 17., introduced by Rep. Speier and Rep. Reed, has a companion bill, S.J. Res. 1, which has not yet been taken up by the Senate for a vote.
“In just a few weeks, on March 22, we will mark the 50th anniversary of congressional passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). In anticipation of this anniversary, and as Members of Congress committed to constitutional equality, we write to request immediate action by the Senate to affirm the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. March is Women’s History Month—the perfect time for this historic action,” wrote the Members to Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell.
Over two years ago, the ERA was ratified by the state of Virginia, the 38th and final state needed to meet the requirements of Article V of the U.S. Constitution for ratification of a constitutional amendment. On January 27, 2022, the second anniversary of that historic vote and the date the ERA went into effect, President Biden made a statement in support of the ERA and called on Congress “to act immediately to pass a resolution recognizing ratification of the ERA.” In their letter, the Members urge the Senate heed the President’s call for action and schedule a vote on the Senate floor for S.J. Res. 1.
Click here to read the letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
