118 HJ 82 IH: Expressing the sense of Congress that the article of amendment commonly known as the “Equal Rights Amendment” has been validly ratified and is enforceable as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the Archivist of the United States must certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment without delay.
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-07-14
text/xml
EN
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IA
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. J. RES. 82
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 14, 2023
Ms. Bush (for herself, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Balint, Mrs. McClellan, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Spanberger, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Brown, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Titus, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Omar, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Chu, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Porter, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Frost, Ms. Barragán, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Budzinski, Ms. Velázquez, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Lee of Nevada, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Cárdenas, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Escobar, and Ms. Clarke of New York) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that the article of amendment commonly known as the “Equal Rights Amendment” has been validly ratified and is enforceable as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the Archivist of the United States must certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment without delay.
Whereas the Equal Rights Amendment provides an explicit constitutional basis for combating sex discrimination and provides Congress with authority to enact stronger laws to ensure sex equality by adding the following language to the United States Constitution:
“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.
2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
3.
This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.”;
Whereas Article V provides two requirements for amending the United States Constitution, including—
(1)
passage in both Houses of Congress by two-thirds of each body; and
(2)
ratification by three-fourths of the States;
Whereas the House of Representatives passed the Equal Rights Amendment on October 12, 1971, with a vote of 354 yeas and 24 nays (with 51 not voting), the Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment on March 22, 1972, by a vote of 84 yeas and 8 nays (with 7 not voting), and the amendment was sent to the States for ratification;
Whereas three-fourths of the States have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, the final State necessary, Virginia, having ratified on January 27, 2020, including—
(1)
Hawaii (March 22, 1972);
(2)
New Hampshire (March 23, 1972);
(3)
Delaware (March 23, 1972);
(4)
Iowa (March 24, 1972);
(5)
Idaho (March 24, 1972);
(6)
Kansas (March 28, 1972);
(7)
Nebraska (March 29, 1972);
(8)
Texas (March 30, 1972);
(9)
Tennessee (April 4, 1972);
(10)
Alaska (April 5, 1972);
(11)
Rhode Island (April 14, 1972);
(12)
New Jersey (April 17, 1972);
(13)
Colorado (April 21, 1972);
(14)
West Virginia (April 22, 1972);
(15)
Wisconsin (April 26, 1972);
(16)
New York (May 18, 1972);
(17)
Michigan (May 22, 1972);
(18)
Maryland (May 26, 1972);
(19)
Massachusetts (June 21, 1972);
(20)
Kentucky (June 27, 1972);
(21)
Pennsylvania (September 27, 1972);
(22)
California (November 13, 1972);
(23)
Wyoming (January 26, 1973);
(24)
South Dakota (February 5, 1973);
(25)
Oregon (February 8, 1973);
(26)
Minnesota (February 8, 1973);
(27)
New Mexico (February 28, 1973);
(28)
Vermont (March 1, 1973);
(29)
Connecticut (March 15, 1973);
(30)
Washington (March 22, 1973);
(31)
Maine (January 18, 1974);
(32)
Montana (January 25, 1974);
(33)
Ohio (February 7, 1974);
(34)
North Dakota (February 3, 1975);
(35)
Indiana (January 18, 1977);
(36)
Nevada (March 22, 2017);
(37)
Illinois (May 30, 2018); and
(38)
Virginia (January 27, 2020);
Whereas Article V of the United States Constitution does not impose a deadline for the ratification of an amendment;
Whereas the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved by two-thirds of each House of Congress and 203 years later it was finally ratified by three-fourths of the States;
Whereas the 27th Amendment was certified and published by the Administration of George H.W. Bush as part of the United States Constitution;
Whereas, following publication of the 27th Amendment, Congress moved to affirm it as part of the United States Constitution;
Whereas the 14th Amendment was certified and published as part of the United States Constitution in 1868 despite 2 States purporting to rescind their ratifications;
Whereas the States that purported to “rescind” their ratifications of the 14th Amendment (Ohio and New Jersey) were counted among the ratifying States;
Whereas Tennessee attempted to rescind its ratification of the 19th Amendment but its attempt was ignored and the 19th Amendment was certified and published on August 26, 1920; and
Whereas the Archivist of the United States, once a proposed amendment has been adopted according to the provisions of the Constitution, has a statutory duty under section 106b of title 1, United States Code, to certify that the proposed amendment has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the Constitution of the United States and publish a proposed amendment in the Federal Register: Now, therefore, be it
That it is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
the article of amendment to the Constitution commonly known as the “Equal Rights Amendment” has been duly proposed by two-thirds of each House of the Congress and ratified by more than three-fourths of the several States, and thus has met the requirements of the Constitution under Article V and is enforceable as the “Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution”, effective January 27, 2020; and
(2)
the current Archivist of the United States should proceed to fulfill their ministerial duty under section 106b of title 1, United States Code, to certify and publish the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution without delay.