[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 48 (Thursday, March 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1722-S1723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this Women's History Month, we have the 
opportunity to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of 
the 19th Amendment of the Constitution, which gave women the right to 
vote.
  We recognize the countless women who have put their own safety and 
comfort on the line in order to make this country more just, 
democratic, and inclusive. These include heroes like Margaret Brent, a 
daughter of Maryland who was the first to demand a vote for women in 
the colonial legislature, and Sojourner Truth, who advocated for a more 
diverse and intersectional women's suffrage movement. Thanks to their 
bravery and that of many other activists, our Nation witnessed the 
largest expansion of suffrage in its history.
  A century later, we ought to celebrate that monumental achievement. 
The ability to vote has empowered women to demand a government that 
represents them and their interests, and they have taken their power 
seriously. Women have voted in higher numbers than men in every 
national election for the last 55 years. In 2018, we saw the results 
that can happen when women raise their voices and fight for a more 
inclusive democracy as a record 117 women won elections to Congress 
across the United States.
  We cannot overstate how dramatically the adoption of the 19th 
Amendment has changed our country for the better, but it is also 
incumbent upon us to take stock of the progress that still needs to be 
made.
  Just a few years after women won the right to vote, a suffragette 
named Alice Paul introduced another critically important constitutional 
amendment, one that would go even further in guaranteeing the equal 
status of women. It was called the Equal Rights Amendment, or the ERA, 
which reads as follows: ``Equality of rights under the law shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of 
sex.'' That is it. It is just 24 words. Yet those 24 words have the 
power to correct a 250-year silence in our Constitution when it comes 
to recognizing and protecting women's equality.
  The ERA was ratified by the U.S. Congress in 1972, and with 
Virginia's ratification this past January, enough States have adopted 
the amendment to meet the threshold for it to be added to the 
Constitution. So what is the holdup? Why isn't it a part of the 
Constitution yet? When Congress ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, it 
imposed a deadline for State legislatures to ratify. That deadline has 
passed.
  There should never be a deadline on equality. The Constitution does 
not call for time limits for the ratification of amendments, and there 
is precedent for amendments being added to the Constitution as many as 
200 years after having first been proposed.
  Most importantly, just as Congress had the power to impose and extend 
the deadline by resolution, we have the power to remove it through the 
same means. That is why I have introduced a resolution with Senator 
Murkowski to remove the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights 
Amendment. Representative Jackie Speier introduced a companion 
resolution that has already been passed by the House of 
Representatives. We are closer than ever to making the Equal Rights 
Amendment a reality.
  This measure has historically enjoyed bipartisan support. The vast 
majority of Americans--94 percent of them--is in favor of a 
constitutional equality amendment. Perhaps it is because they 
understand that this is an issue not of politics but of basic human

[[Page S1723]]

rights. If you have any doubt about that, just look at the rest of the 
modern world. Every constitution written around the globe since World 
War II recognizes the equal stature of men and women. Ours does not. 
That is shameful.
  Among those who are hesitant to support the ERA, one of their most 
common arguments is that it is not necessary. People argue that women 
already enjoy equal rights and protections in our society, so what is 
the need to write it down? To them, I say think again. Although the 
wage gap between men and women has narrowed over time, it still exists 
today. In 2019, women earned only 79 percent as much as their male 
counterparts for similar work. This disparity is even worse for women 
of color. It affects women their entire lives, and it affects their 
retirements. Recent data show that women over 65 are twice as likely as 
men to live below the poverty line. We owe it to America's women--to 
our mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and selves--to remedy this 
societal failure.
  Furthermore, as it stands, women in the United States have no Federal 
recourse for gender-based violence. Because of that, the courts have 
allowed police officers to refuse to defend victims of domestic abuse 
and have even struck down the protections offered by the Violence 
Against Women Act. The Equal Rights Amendment would require the Federal 
Government to prohibit and penalize this type of discrimination.
  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said that, if she could choose an 
amendment to add to the Constitution, it would be the Equal Rights 
Amendment because she would like her granddaughters, when they pick up 
the Constitution, to see that notion--that women and men are persons of 
equal stature--as being a basic principle of our society. As a 
grandfather of two granddaughters myself, I couldn't agree more. I want 
them to know that, in America, they will enjoy the same protections and 
opportunities as anyone else.
  I want every young person to grow up understanding that her dreams 
are within reach, that her autonomy is respected, and that her life is 
significant. In order to make that a reality, women need more than the 
right to vote, as fundamental as that is; they need a promise that they 
will be free from all forms of discrimination and injustice. That is 
why men, women, Republicans, and Democrats must come together in order 
to correct that silence in our Constitution--a silence that speaks 
volumes. We must all unite to support the Equal Rights Amendment.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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