The Senate voted 51-47 on Thursday against removing the deadline that prevents the Equal Rights Amendment from being ratified and made a part of the United States Constitution.
The ERA, a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights under the law regardless of sex, was first introduced in Congress in 1923, though it did not pass until 1972. At least three-quarters of all 50 states, or a minimum of 38, must ratify an amendment for it to be added to the Constitution. Congress set a 1979 deadline for the ERA to be ratified by the states, later extending that deadline to 1982, though only 35 states had ratified it by that point.
SENATE TO VOTE ON EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT RATIFICATION
Three additional states, Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia, ratified the amendment in recent years, however, giving the ERA the necessary support to be added to the Constitution. With that, the deadline was the only roadblock still standing in the ERA's way.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) brought a bipartisan resolution lifting the 1982 deadline, led by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), to the floor for a vote on Thursday despite lacking the necessary support to pass it. Democrats only control the Senate by a 51-49 margin, far below the 60-vote filibuster threshold required to pass most legislation in the chamber. While the resolution had some GOP support, Murkowski and Cardin were unable to secure enough Republican votes before Schumer brought the bill to the floor.
Murkowski lamented the situation while speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, noting, "I'm not entirely pleased by the timing of our debate on this resolution because we have not yet secured the 60 votes needed for its passage.
"I don't really like it being used as filler on the floor as somewhat of an exercise that runs the clock on a largely empty legislative calendar," she added. "I don't see how the ERA or women in this country will ultimately benefit from that."
Schumer defended his timing while speaking on the Senate floor before the vote, arguing that the resolution is "as necessary as it is timely. America can never hope to be a land of freedom and opportunity so long as half its population is treated like second-class citizens. So 100 years after the ERA first came to Congress, the work is not done. The fight is yet to be won. The march continues."
Absent from Thursday's vote was Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), whose continued medical leave has left Democrats short of an outright majority in the Senate and essentially paralyzed the Senate Judiciary Committee. In addition to not having Feinstein, Democrats lacked the support of just over four dozen GOP lawmakers.
After the resolution failed, Schumer switched his vote from yes to no, a procedural tactic allowing him to bring the resolution back up for consideration at a later date.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who opposed the resolution, argued during an initial hearing for the measure in late February that it would hurt legal arguments for anti-abortion measures. He also claimed the ERA's ratification would hurt women's rights, referencing the debate over transgender females participating in sports.
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"This amendment would punish women who are trying to play sports fairly," he said at the time. "This amendment would give the court the ability to strike down every pro-life measure passed by the states.
"The people who are pushing politically to pass this are hanging their hat on if it became law, every pro-life measure in this country would fall," he continued. "So if there is a law in a state, pick a state, that says a biological male cannot compete against females, would that law be subject to being struck down if the ERA was passed?"