Congressman Cohen Testifies on Rule for Consideration of the Equal Rights Amendment

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, testified this evening before the House Rules Committee, urging the panel to adopt a rule for consideration of a resolution enabling the full ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. It would become the 28^th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

H. J. Res 79, introduced by Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California with 224 co-sponsors, would remove a deadline that Congress previously set for the States to ratify the Amendment.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement before the Rules Committee:

"The purpose of the ERA is simple and fundamental: It ensures that everyone is treated equally under the law, regardless of sex or gender. Almost one hundred years ago, Alice Paul, who helped lead the campaign to secure women's right to vote, proposed the first version of the Amendment. She and her fellow suffragists knew that for women to achieve true equality, our Nation's founding document needed to be amended to reflect that core principle. Nearly a century later, it is long past time to make that dream a reality."

See Congressman Cohen's entire statement here.

The House is expected to vote on passage of H.J. Res 79 on the floor on Thursday morning.

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