[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 25, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Mr. President, now Senate business and the ERA. The Senate is set to 
have a very busy week on the floor.
  Later this afternoon, we will begin with a cloture vote on the 
nomination of Joshua Jacobs to serve as VA Under Secretary for 
Benefits. Mr. Jacobs comes before the Senate at a critical moment for 
the VA, as he will be the one responsible for overseeing the 
implementation of PACT Act benefits. To date, the VA has already 
completed 191,000 PACT claims, 80 percent of which have been granted, I 
am proud to say. As senior adviser, Mr. Jacobs has already done great 
work at the VA pushing these benefits out the door, and he is clearly 
the right man for the position.
  Later today, I will also file cloture on Anthony Johnstone, an 
outstanding nominee to serve a lifetime appointment as circuit court 
judge for the Ninth Circuit. I want to thank Senator Tester for 
championing this strong nominee. The Senate will take it up later this 
week.
  Finally and importantly, a few moments ago, I took the first 
procedural step for the Senate to take up a monumental resolution 
regarding the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The Senate 
will vote to take up this historic ER measure on Thursday.
  It has been exactly 100 years since the first Equal Rights Amendment 
was proposed here in Congress. Despite the progress America has made in 
the advancement of women's rights, we have yet to take one fundamental 
step: ratification of the ERA to guarantee gender equality under the 
Constitution. The Senate has a chance this week to bring our country 
one step closer to equal justice under the law by passing this 
bipartisan ERA resolution.
  Three-quarters of the States have already ratified the ERA, just not 
in the requisite time set decades ago. The resolution would remove the 
arbitrary deadline and formally recognize that 38 States--the number 
required under the Constitution--have ratified the ERA.
  Anyone who thinks the ERA isn't necessary at a time like this is not 
paying attention to the terrible things happening in this country. In 
the past year alone, the Supreme Court has eliminated the protections 
of Roe v. Wade, our courts have targeted drugs like mifepristone, and 
we have seen over a dozen hard-right States enact near-total bans on 
abortions. We need the ERA more than ever, ever before.
  I want my daughters and granddaughter to live in a country where they 
never have to worry about being discriminated against simply because of 
their gender. While, sadly, that is not the case today, we have a great 
opportunity to make significant progress on ERA ratification this week 
so we can enshrine the rights of generations of women to come.
  I want to thank Senator Cardin, who has spearheaded this, along with 
Senator Murkowski--it is bipartisan--and thank them for championing 
this ERA resolution, and I look forward to advance its voting this 
Thursday.
  Finally, in a few minutes, my colleague from Massachusetts will take 
the floor to ask unanimous consent that some of our brave military 
leaders get the promotions they deserve. It is absolutely outrageous 
that the Senator from Alabama is playing with the security of America--
playing with the lives of these military leaders, whose lives are being 
disrupted by his harsh action.
  He believes strongly that women in the military shouldn't have the 
right to abortion. Almost all Americans disagree with him. But no 
matter how strongly he feels, to hold up the promotion of military 
leaders, many of whom--most of whom have dedicated decades of their 
lives to protecting our country, and now leaving those positions 
vacant, risking our security, is one of the most abominable and 
outrageous things I have seen ever done in this Chamber, witnessed by 
the fact that no one has ever had the temerity, the gall to do this 
before.
  So I salute the Senator from Massachusetts for bringing these names 
up. Everyone in this Chamber should exalt them. Members of this Chamber 
from the other side should go plead with the Senator from Alabama to 
stop this headstrong, nasty, and unneeded action.
  I again thank our Senator from Massachusetts, who is chair of the 
subcommittee that is relevant, for bringing this issue to floor and 
showing America what the Senator from Alabama is exactly doing.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.