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This resolution would eliminate the deadline Congress imposed on the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex under the U.S. Constitution. This bill’s enactment would negate the deadline Congress imposed when it initially passed the ERA and later extended, effectively allowing the ERA to take effect once it’s ratified by three-fourths of the states.

The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 and provided states a seven-year time limit to ratify the amendment, which was then extended to 1982 after six years had elapsed. Once the 1982 deadline arrived, the ERA had been ratified by 35 states — three short of the requirement. Following its failure to achieve ratification before the 1982 deadline, the ERA was reintroduced in Congress by those who believed the ratification process would have to begin anew.

However, there are some — including the sponsor of this legislation — who believe that to be unnecessary. Time limits on constitutional amendments hadn’t been utilized prior to the 18th Amendment, so ratification time limits are a self-imposed constraint rather than a constitutional requirement. As a case in point, the 27th Amendment (also known as the Madison Amendment) wasn’t ratified until nearly 203 years after Congress passed it and it sent it to the states.

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Should Congress Eliminate the Deadline for Ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment?