House of Representatives Takes Important Step Toward Ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment With Rep. Cleaver's Support

Press Release

(Washington, D.C.) -- Today, the House of Representatives passed H.J.Res. 17, a joint resolution to remove an arbitrary deadline previously imposed by Congress for individual States to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) voted in favor of the resolution, which was passed with bipartisan support and will now go to the U.S. Senate.

"For far too long, the U.S. Constitution has failed to recognized women as truly equal under the law, and the time has come for Congress to rectify this miscarriage of justice," said Congressman Cleaver. "Every American, regardless of gender, should be afforded the same basic rights under our Constitution. By passing this resolution and removing an arbitrary deadline, we have an opportunity to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and affirm our nation's commitment to equal justice under the rule of law. That's what we should be striving for, and that's why I was proud to support this historic resolution."

The ERA was first proposed in 1923, simply stating "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." It was passed in 1972 with bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress, however, Congress placed an arbitrary seven-year time limit on the State ratification process. Unfortunately, the ERA fell three States shy of the three-fourths needed to ratify the amendment when the original 1979 deadline arrived.

With Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia ratifying the ERA in recent years, the amendment now has the requisite States needed for certification of the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. With passage of H.J.Res. 17, Congress can take a critical step toward ensuring that occurs.

You can find the official text of H.J.Res. 17 here.

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