'It's time to clear the path to equality': Senate revisits Equal Rights Amendment after 40 years
Rachel LookerWASHINGTON – More than 50 years after Congress set in motion the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, the movement to provide women with more equality under the law is gaining new life on Capitol Hill.
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary committee revisited the ERA by holding a hearing – the first in the Senate on the ERA since 1984. It follows reinvigorated efforts to bolster women's rights after the "Me Too" movement in 2017 and the Supreme Court decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.
Now, lawmakers are considering a joint resolution that would repeal a deadline to ratify the ERA so that it can be enshrined in the Constitution.
"It's time to clear the path to equality," said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who chairs the committee.
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Equal Rights Amendment: Will women ever have equal rights under federal law?
What is the Equal Rights Amendment?
The Equal Rights Amendment states: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
Congress first approved a resolution formally proposing the amendment in 1972, triggering the requirement that 38 states ratify it before enshrinement to the U.S. Constitution. Lawmakers set a seven-year deadline for the ratification process, then extended it by another three years.
Only 35 states adopted the amendment by the extended 10-year deadline. But in 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment, meeting the threshold required but doing so nearly four decades after the deadline lapsed.
The House in 2020 and 2021 voted to remove the expired deadline to ratify the amendment after the 38-state threshold had been met, but the Justice Department under the former President Donald Trump's administration claimed it would not be possible because the deadline expired.
President Joe Biden has made no moves to rescind the Justice Department's opinion.
More:'Me too' movement renews Equal Rights Amendment push
'Congress needs to complete the job'
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who co-sponsored the bipartisan resolution to repeal the deadline, said the Equal Rights Amendment would advance equality for workforce and pay, sexual harassment and violence and protect the LGBTQ+ community.
"Most Americans already believe this is in our Constitution," he said. "But Congress needs to complete the job and remove any ambiguity."
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she has introduced this resolution with Cardin during three congressional sessions and said she does not feel there's been enough attention on the amendment by the Senate.
"As I talk to so many people, they say, 'Well we thought the ERA had already been adopted'," she said during Tuesday's hearing.
More:House votes to revive Equal Rights Amendment for women despite legal questions
Sen. Graham: Vote for Equal Rights Amendment 'will fall well short'
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., who opposes the resolution, pointed to how women's rights have advanced "by leaps and bounds" since the ERA was introduced – and did so without its enshrinement.
Women are already protected by discriminations under the law through the 14th amendment and other legislation, she said, adding that adoption of the ERA would undo "many of these great achievements."
"The equal rights amendment would only muddy the waters because of it's vague language," Hyde-Smith said.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, argued the amendment not only failed to meet the designated timeline, but also pointed out that five states that ratified the amendment rescinded it before 1982.
"I think it will fall well short of the 60 votes necessary," he said of the resolution's prospects on the Senate floor.