DPCC COCHAIRS CALL ON MCCONNELL TO HOLD SENATE ERA VOTE FOLLOWING HOUSE PASSAGE
DPCC COCHAIRS CALL ON MCCONNELL TO HOLD SENATE ERA VOTE FOLLOWING HOUSE PASSAGE
Cicilline, Cartwright, Dingell, Lieu: Affirming Women's Equality in the Constitution Long Overdue, the Senate Must Act
(Washington, DC) –House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chairman David Cicilline (RI-01) and Co-Chairs Matt Cartwright (PA-08), Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and Ted Lieu (CA-33) are calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a vote in the Senate after House passage today of Congresswoman Jackie Speier's (CA-14) resolution to remove the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Today's vote in the House paved the way forward for passage of this historic amendment and reaffirmed the House's support for women's equality. The resolution is cosponsored by 224 bipartisan Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have introduced a companion joint resolution in the U.S. Senate.
"For as much progress as we've made over the years, women are still less than equal in the eyes of the law. In fact, under President Trump, our country has moved in the wrong direction" said Cicilline. "That changes today. This bill moves us closer to enshrining the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution. Mitch McConnell owes it to all American women to allow a vote on the Senate floor. He should do so without delay."
"Women's equality is not a partisan issue, it's a human issue, and the Constitution should reflect that," said Cartwright. "A critical number of states have now ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, yet an arbitrary deadline imposed by Congress years ago stands in the way. Today, we have taken a key step toward taking the fight for equality off a timeline and permanently enshrining women's rights in our nation's primary governing document."
"Since the founding of our country, women have not been included in the Constitution. Women continue to face obstacles for full equality, including unequal pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual and domestic violence, and inadequate health care access," said Dingell. "The ratification of the ERA would have a positive impact on these fronts and make women equal to men in the eyes of the law."
"One hundred years after the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, I am pleased House Democrats are taking the long overdue and historic step to ratify the ERA and explicitly ban discrimination based on sex" said Lieu. "The notion that women are entitled to equal treatment under the law is neither partisan nor radical. It is time that equality for women is enshrined in the Constitution—I urge my Senate colleagues to act swiftly on this important measure."
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul and approved by Congress in 1972. With Virginia's ratification this past January, the ERA has now been ratified by the required minimum 3/4ths of all states necessary for inclusion in the Constitution. In December of 2019 Alabama, South Dakota, and Louisiana filed complaints that the amendment cannot be certified due to the expired deadline. The resolution the House passed today would remove the arbitrary deadline, create a pathway for the ERA to finally become law under the Constitution, and end a century-long fight for women's equal protection rights.
The Equal Rights Amendment has three sections:
v Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
v Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
v Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.