"Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is Long Overdue"

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Vice Chair of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Caucus, joined ERA Caucus Co-Chairs Cori Bush (MO-01) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and other members of the ERA Caucus in marching to the Senate floor to demand action on S.J. Res. 4.  Following the march, Congresswoman McClellan issued the following statement:

"One hundred years ago, the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced. It took Congress nearly fifty years to pass the legislation, at which point 38 states needed to ratify it. In 2020, I led the charge to make Virginia the 38th and final state to ratify the ERA; however, an arbitrary deadline imposed by Congress in the early 1970's has prohibited its publication in the U.S. Constitution. 

"Today, the U.S. Senate had the opportunity to pass S.J. Res. 4, remove the arbitrary deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and finally allow the ERA to become the 28th Amendment. As Vice Chair of the ERA Caucus, I was proud to join ERA Caucus Co-Chairs Bush and Pressley and several of my ERA colleagues in demanding Senate action on this resolution. 

"Despite bipartisan support, 47 Republicans voted against the resolution and again tried to stop 100 years of progress in the fight for gender equality; however, we will not rest until these protections are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. I will continue to lead on this issue in Congress, as I did in the Virginia General Assembly, because our daughters and granddaughters deserve equal protections under the law." 

Passage of S.J. Res. 4 failed in the U.S. Senate with a vote of 51 to 47. 60 votes were needed to overcome the Senate filibuster.