[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2044-E2045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WOMEN'S EQUALITY AMENDMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 14, 2002

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, on the day when we have elected the first 
even, highest-

[[Page E2045]]

ranking woman in Congress, Nancy Pelosi, I issue a challenge to my 
colleagues and to the incoming freshman class: Pass the Women's 
Equality Amendment, also known as the Equal Rights Amendment in the 
108th Congress!
  We are in a new millennium, and we cannot continue to leave women 
behind. Times have changed, but the purposes of the Women's Equality 
Amendment remains the same. It's simple concept: Equality of rights 
under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or 
by any State on account of sex.
  On March 22, 2001, I was joined by a group of my male colleagues from 
the House and Senate as we re-introduced the Women's Equality Amendment 
with over 160 original co-sponsors. At the end of the 107th Congress, 
we have a record 210 cosponsors. We have worked too hard and too long 
to see these advances dashed as we enter a new legislative session. We 
must use the momentum we've established to launch an full-fledged 
campaign to pass the Women's Equality Amendment. We cannot wait another 
thirty years. For the sake of our daughters, we should not wait. Now is 
the time.
  Thirty years ago, the Women's Equality Amendment passed the House, 
but a time limit was added. It was eventually ratified by 35 states, 
just 3 states shy of final ratification. This is why House Judiciary 
Chair Rodino reintroduced the Women's Equality Amendment in 1982. We 
have been trying to pass this legislation ever since. Don't get me 
wrong. Progress has been made. There are now 61 women Members of 
Congress and 13 women Senators compared to 1972's grand total of one 
women Senator and 10 women Members.
  In modern America, after five decades of legal and legislative 
advices for women, it may seem to some that the Women's Equality 
Amendment is not needed. But the fact is women do not enjoy full, and 
equal protection under the law.
  Yes, we have a patchwork and piecemeal set of legal protections that 
try to ensure equality under the law; the Equal Protection Clause, 
Title IX, the Equal Pay Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. However, 
laws can be changed, repealed or swept away. It is a glaring gap in our 
body of laws that women do not enjoy the full force of constitutional 
protection. Gender must have the same level of judicial review as the 
other protections that combat the many forms of discrimination.
  Women are paid less than their equally male counterparts in the 
workforce, just seventy three cents for each dollar the man earns.
  In fact, many of you may know, that last January, Congressman John 
Dingell and I released a report title ``A New Look Throughout the Glass 
Ceiling.'' The results were truly astonishing. Our study, based on data 
generated by the General Accounting Office, showed that women managers 
were actually losing ground to their male counterparts. In all ten 
industries studied, which employ 71 percent of U.S. women workers and 
73 percent of U.S. women managers, full-time women managers earned less 
than men in both 1995 and 20000.
  But I was truly shocked that in seven of the ten industries, the 
earning gap between full-time women and men managers actually widened 
between 1995 and 2000.
  As this report shows, when our nation was at its strongest. We didn't 
spread the wealth, we grew the disparity.
  The Supreme Court did not advance the protections for women in sex 
discrimination cases, however women still have a stricter burden of 
proof to prove discrimination than do racial minorities Ironically, a 
white male claiming race discrimination has a stronger legal standing 
than a black female claiming sex discrimination by the same employer or 
action.
  In some states, a group of women cannot joint together to rent a 
home, While several men could, because ancient state laws consider 
women a greater risk of using that group home for illict sexual 
activities.
  Overriding all of these examples is the simple fact that equal 
protection for men is guaranteed by the Constitution, and equal rights 
for women are secured at the whim of politicians and jurists. Any 
Congress or legislature or judge could roll back back the gains women 
have secured in the last half century without risk the ultimate 
Constitutional penalty.
  Across America and in this Congress, that simple reality is being 
recognized more and more;. The 210 co-sponsors of the Women's Equality 
Amendment is the highest for any Congress since 1983, the last time it 
reached the floor of the House.
  It will not be long before an overwhelming majority of this House, 
and then this Congress, will endorse the Women's Equality Amendment 
once again, and repair a travesty in our nation's history.
  Within this short, but essential, statement, women will be on their 
way to enjoying equal status in society. We must gather together, men 
and women on both sides of the aisle and pass the Women's Equality 
Amendment once and for all.

                          ____________________