Removing the Deadline for the Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment

Floor Speech

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Ms. CHU. Madam Speaker, discrimination against women is a part of America's history, but it should not be our future. That is why we need the equal rights amendment.

It was not an accident that women were left out of the Constitution. The Founders very much believed us to be unequal and, as such, we could not own property, vote, hold certain jobs, or even serve on a jury.

The impacts of that discrimination are still felt today. Women are paid less than men and still face discrimination for being pregnant.

The Founders were wrong, and this is our chance to fix it by doing what they refused to do: assert in the Constitution that women, too, have rights.

The ERA will not end discrimination, but it will empower us to fight it in court. Already, 38 States have ratified this amendment, which satisfies the requirements in the Constitution. The vast majority of Americans support it.

Congress set a deadline for ratification, which means we can repeal it. It is time to affirm that there is no expiration date on equality.

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