Manchin Joins Bipartisan, Bicameral Resolution Affirming Ratification of Equal Rights Amendment

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined a bipartisan, bicameral resolution to affirm the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and take a critical step toward enshrining equality for women in the United States Constitution. The resolution removes the arbitrary deadline for ratification of the ERA, clearing a procedural hurdle in recognizing the amendment as a valid part of the Constitution once the 38-state threshold required for ratification has been met.

“I’m proud to cosponsor the bipartisan, bicameral resolution to affirm the ratification of the ERA to guarantee equality for women in West Virginia and the entire country,” said Senator Manchin. “Women’s equality is fundamental, and it is past time that the ERA becomes an official part of our Constitution. I look forward to voting for this critical resolution, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it across the finish line.”

The ERA was first introduced in 1923 as a constitutional amendment and was reintroduced in every session of Congress until it passed the House and Senate in 1972. Congress then placed a seven-year deadline on the ratification process before extending the deadline to 1982, but only 35 states ratified the amendment in time. However, with recent ratifications by Nevada in 2017, Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020, the necessary 38-state threshold to adopt the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution has now been reached.

Senator Manchin was joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dick Durbin (D-IL) Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bob Casey (D-PA), Angus King (I-VT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mark Warner (D-VA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ben Lujan (D-NM), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Cori Bush (D-MO) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) led more than 100 lawmakers in the House of Representatives in cosponsoring the amendment. The resolution is endorsed by nearly 300 grassroots and national organizations.