As Women’s History Month comes to an end, members of Congress are fighting to protect women’s rights by finally getting a 28th amendment added to the U.S. Constitution. 

On Tuesday, Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., launched the Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment.

What You Need To Know

  • Democratic members of Congress launched a caucus Tuesday seeking to finally add the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution

  • The caucus was created with the goal of affirming the ERA and "centering people who stand to benefit the most from gender equity," including women from minority groups, LGBTQ+ people, people seeking abortion care and other marginalized groups

  • The ERA was introduced in 1923, but didn't pass Congress until 1972; the 38th state to ratify the amendment, Virginia did so in 2020 — 40 years after a deadline set by the Congress

  • Earlier in March, a group of Republican senators introduced a resolution arguing that the ERA must be reintroduced in order to be added to the Constitution

The caucus, which is the first of its kind, was created according to a release with the goal “to affirm the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th amendment to the Constitution; raise awareness within Congress to establish constitutional gender equality as a national priority; partner with a multi-generational, multi-racial and inclusive coalition of advocates, activists, scholars, organizers, and public figures; and center the people who stand to benefit the most from gender equality, including Black and Brown women, LGBTQ+ people, people seeking abortion care, and other marginalized groups.”

“Today we are making it absolutely damn clear - that this must be a national issue. You might have written us out, but don’t count us out,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., a freshman lawmaker who serves as a vice chair for the group.

The ERA was introduced in Congress for the first time in 1923, but did not pass Congress until March 1972. To add an amendment to the Constitution, it must be passed by a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate and ratified by three quarters of the states.

It was never added to the Constitution. Virginia, which became the 38th state to ratify the amendment in 2020, missed the deadline set by Congress — by over 40 years.

“It is incredibly demoralizing given all the contributions of women in this country, despite the many disparities, and disparate outcomes and inequities and injustices to not see ourselves reflecting in the founding document of this country. It is so demoralizing. We are deserving of recognition, and we are deserving of our constitutional equality,” Pressley told Spectrum News.

Last year, House Democrats introduced a resolution to formally recognize the ERA as part of our nation’s foundational document. President Joe Biden has also backed congressional action to pass the amendment, but that bill went nowhere. 

Now, they are trying again.

“All we are asking for is 24 words — 24 simple words. The equal rights amendment will add to our constitution that equality of rights under the law should not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex,” said Bush.

“The founders viewed us as second class citizens,” Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., added. “We’ve made great strides since then, but we still are not equal. Even today, women face pregnancy discrimination and disproportionate rates of sexual violence, and we are still paid less than men for the same work.”

Attempts to re-ratify the ERA may hit some speed bumps under a split Congress. It’s unclear if a Republican-controlled House will give the bill a vote. Earler this month in the Senate, a group of Republican senators introduced a resolution stating that to add the ERA to the Constitution, the amendment must be reintroduced, which would restart the process.

“The law and the facts outlined in this resolution are clear. Congress has no authority to go back in time to revive a failed constitutional amendment, which makes the current push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment wrong on its face,” Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., said in a release introducing the resolution. Hyde-Smith is a co-sponsor of the resolution with Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

“Beyond the illegitimacy of trying to resurrect the ERA, we cannot ignore the very serious effects adding the ERA to our Constitution today would have on abortion, religious liberty, protections for women, and more,” Hyde-Smith said.

Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Tom Cotton R-Ark., Markwayne Mullin R-Okla., J.D. Vance R-Ohio, Bill Cassidy, R-La., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and John Boozman, R-Ark., also cosponsored the the reintroduction resolution.