[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REMOVING THE DEADLINE FOR THE RATIFICATION OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS 
                               AMENDMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 17, 2021

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I rise in support of equality and the 
principle that our Constitution was designed, not to shore up the 
dominance of the historically powerful, but to ensure the rights of all 
and to foster a society in which each of us is free to shape our future 
based on our abilities. The resolution today seeks to remove the 
deadline Congress put in place for the ratification of the Equal Rights 
Amendment. While ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is 
imperative to enshrine equal rights for women, I do not believe it is 
necessary to strike the deadline for ratification. However, by voting 
on this legislation, we may imply that it is necessary for Congress to 
lift a self-imposed deadline in order for the ratification to be 
effective. I do not prescribe to this view.
  Congressional authority to propose Amendments to the Constitution and 
the mode of ratification is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. 
Article V requires two-thirds of the House and Senate to propose an 
amendment. Congress can choose ratification through three-fourths of 
the state legislatures or state ratifying conventions. Once the 
amendment is proposed to the states, there is no Constitutionally 
imposed time limit on the ratification process. Article V of the 
Constitution is silent with regard to when a state must consider and 
ratify an amendment. In fact, the ratification process for the 27th 
Amendment took more than two hundred years.
  Historically, Congress has ratified amendments without specific time 
limitations. The first amendment to contain a time limit was the 18th 
Amendment, which established the prohibition of alcohol. The text of 
the 18th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd Amendments each contained language 
limiting the time frame for ratification. In contrast, the text of the 
Equal Rights Amendment ratified by the states does not contain a time 
limit. It is the proposing clause sent to the states for ratification 
of the Equal Rights Amendment which contains a seven-year time 
limitation. Notwithstanding a lower district court ruling to the 
contrary, the language of a proposing clause is not legally binding. 
The ratification process of the Equal Rights Amendment was properly 
before the states and was reasonable and sufficiently contemporaneous. 
Therefore, having been ratified by Virginia and a sufficient number of 
other states pursuant to Article V, the ERA, in my judgement, has 
become part of the Constitution.
  This resolution is unlikely to add to the argument that the ERA has 
been ratified, and, because it implies that the deadline needs to be 
removed, it may strengthen arguments against because if the deadline is 
binding, then passage of this resolution in the House, without passage 
in the Senate, certainly does not cure that defect. And even with 
Senate concurrence, the effect of the resolution on state ratifications 
between the deadline and the removal of the deadline is unclear. So the 
passage of the resolution in the House and Senate will at best add 
confusion to the debate and at worst will strengthen arguments against 
the conclusion that the ERA has been ratified. Nevertheless, forced 
with a vote, it makes more sense to vote in favor than to oppose the 
resolution.
  Regardless of the outcome of this resolution on the ERA itself, the 
fight for equality must continue. Women still face hurdles in the 
pathways to success. On average, women still earn less than men for the 
same job functions. Pregnant women often lack basic protections and 
reasonable accommodation in the workplace. Perhaps most concerning of 
all, violence against women is still widespread and undermines the 
educational and social potential of women and young children in this 
country.
  I am proud to have worked with my Democratic colleagues in the House 
to pass legislation to remedy these inequalities. The House recently 
passed the Protect the Right to Organize Act (H.R. 842) which protects 
workers who are trying to form a union. While in most of America, women 
earn less than men, women and men working under a union contract 
receive equal pay for equal work. We have worked to fill the gaps in 
the patchwork of existing laws governing how and when workers take time 
off to care for themselves and their families. Expanding the Family and 
Medical Leave Act to cover more working parents and low wage workers 
who are currently excluded from leave policies is a top priority.
  There are other initiatives being considered to address inequities. 
Nearly two thirds of minimum wage workers in the United States are 
women. The Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 603) will raise the income levels 
of the most economically insecure households and would be a step in the 
right direction towards pay equity. The Pregnant Worker's Fairness Act 
(H.R. 1065) is important legislation that will provide reasonable 
accommodations to pregnant women in the workforce. The Violence Against 
Women Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1620) which expands protections and 
provides critical funding for victim services, law enforcement 
training, and data collection, is now pending in Congress.
  However, even if all this legislation were to become law, it would 
not be the same as amending the Constitution to guarantee women equal 
rights. Discrimination in the workplace, violence in the home, and 
institutional barriers require systemic legal and cultural change. 
Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment provides an additional legal 
tool for combatting discrimination on the basis of sex.
  We will continue the fight for equality and work towards a more 
inclusive and equitable society.

                          ____________________