[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1370-S1377] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-26
Chamber: SENATE
Ms. KLOBUCHAR: I rise to join Senator Cardin, thanking him for his leadership for so many years, as well as Senator Murkowski and my colleague Senator Stabenow in support of this bipartisan resolution to remove the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment so we can finally enshrine equal rights for women into our Constitution. What are people afraid of? Minnesota ratified the ERA 50 years ago. Since then, women and men who stand with them have never rested in the fight to guarantee equality in the Constitution of the United States of America. After a half century of overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles, that long-fought battle for equality has come down to an arbitrary deadline. Passing the resolution will bring us one step closer to ratifying the ERA and finally enshrining permanent protections for women and girls in our Constitution. The Equal Rights Amendment would make clear, once and for all, that women are guaranteed equal rights under the U.S. Constitution. The core of the amendment is only 24 words long, guaranteeing that ``[e]quality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.'' In 1972, the amendment passed both Houses of Congress with bipartisan support. The Senate voted to send the amendment to the States by a vote of 84 to 8, with 7 not voting, and the House passed it 354 to 24. Congress initially set a 7-year deadline for the required three-fourths of States to ratify the amendment, and it later extended the deadline by 3 more years. By the time that deadline expired, only 35 States had ratified, leaving the amendment three States short of the 38 needed. But the deadline did not stop the growing support for the ERA and women's equality. Since then, three additional States have voted to ratify the ERA, including Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia. It is long past time that equality of women be enshrined in the Constitution. I have been proud to join a bipartisan group of Senators in cosponsoring this resolution. This resolution is part of a long tradition of bipartisan support for the ERA. The past year has made it painfully clear that protecting equality remains fundamental to the lives of each and every American. As my colleagues have noted, the women of this country still face a gender pay gap that leaves them economically behind. Women still earn around 82 cents of every dollar a man makes, and for women of color, it is even less. Ten months ago, we saw the Supreme Court issue a rule shredding nearly five decades of precedent protecting a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions. Now women are at the mercy of a patchwork of State laws governing their ability to access reproductive care, leaving them with fewer rights than their moms and grandmas. Every branch of government has a responsibility to protect people's rights, and if one branch fails to do so, the Constitution gives Congress and the people the power to step in by proposing and ratifying a new amendment. Ratifying the ERA would affirm that sex discrimination is inconsistent with the Nation's core values of equal protection under the law. We know that the majority of Americans are on our side--78 percent of Americans, according to the Pew Research Center--support the ERA being added to the Constitution--78 percent of Americans. We know this proposal is common sense. This year marks the 101st anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, a critical milestone in our democracy. At this moment in our country's history, I am as committed as ever to fighting to ensure that all Americans are guaranteed equality under the law. Let's show the world that the United States of America is a place where equality is the law of the land.  I yield the floor.