[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Equal Rights Amendment

  Mr. President, on the ERA, tomorrow, the Senate will have a chance to 
take the next major step on an effort a century in the making: 
ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment under the Constitution.
  The story of American democracy has been an uneven but inexorable 
march toward greater equality for all people. America's foundation 
contains a simple premise: No matter who you are, where you come from, 
you too deserve equal treatment under the law.
  The Senate will have a chance tomorrow to bring our country one step 
closer toward greater equity by voting on a bipartisan resolution 
regarding the Equal Rights Amendment. The measure is simple. It will 
recognize that 38 States have now legitimately ratified the Equal 
Rights Amendment, meeting the threshold required under the 
Constitution. It would remove an arbitrary deadline set decades ago 
that invalidated the ratification that occurred in a few States. The 
States did the work, just not in the required time that was imposed on 
them a very long time ago. I believe the Senate should now remove that 
obstacle.
  And we must act now because the Equal Rights Amendment has never been 
more necessary than today. To the horror of hundreds of millions of 
people, women in America have fewer rights today than they did even a 
year ago. The protections of Roe v. Wade are gone thanks to the MAGA 
majority on the Supreme Court. Over a dozen States have near-total 
abortion bans, and tens of millions of people have to travel hundreds 
of miles just to access reproductive care. That is sickening.
  We cannot claim that America is a nation of equal justice when half 
of its citizenry languishes on with fewer rights, less dignity, and 
limited recourse under the Constitution. That is why the Senate must 
vote in favor of advancing this ERA resolution tomorrow, so we can 
bring our Nation one step closer to greater justice, greater equality, 
and equal rights for all people, regardless of gender.
  Thank you to Senators Cardin and Murkowski for championing this 
resolution. I look forward to voting in its favor tomorrow.