by Carrie N. Baker for Ms. Magazine In an opinion issued on Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) helped clear the way for the Equal Rights Amendment, according to leading ERA advocates. In January of 2020, under Trump, the OLC issued an opinion arguing that Congress had no power to remove a […]
Speaker Pelosi Holds Press Conference In Support of House ERA Vote Tomorrow
This morning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jackie Speier, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and a host of other members of Congress held a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s vote on H.J.Res. 79 to remove the arbitrary timeline put in the preamble to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Carol Jenkins spoke for the ERA Coalition as leaders […]
Congressional Democrats Eye Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment After Virginia Elections
House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, announced Friday that the House Judiciary Committee would be marking up a bill eliminating the deadline for states to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was one state short of the 38 needed for ratification when the deadline passed in 1982. The markup of […]
Black Maternal Health Caucus Holds Stakeholder Summit at the Capitol
Last Thursday afternoon, the Black Maternal Health Caucus (BMHC), composed of Congress members, such as co-founders Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Alma Adams (NC-12), Jackie Speier (CA-14), and Ilhan Omar (MN-5), gathered to hear the opinions of the stakeholders involved in developing a course of action to how to best deal with the issue of discrepancies […]
ERA Introduced in Missouri State Senate
Last week, Missouri State Senator Jill Schupp introduced the Equal Rights Amendment into the state senate for ratification. Senator Schupp faces a tough battle in the Missouri State Senate after the Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz announced that he would oppose the legislation. Missouri’s Senate is composed of 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats and […]
Congress Leads Renewed Fight For the ERA
On Tuesday, Congresswomen Jackie Speier (D-Ca.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) hosted a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to announce the introduction of legislation in support of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). They were joined by activists and organizations spearheading the movement such as the Feminist Majority, the National Organization for Women, the National Women’s […]
Congress Finally Passes Updated Sexual Harassment Policy
Yesterday, Congress finally passed a deal to update its sexual harassment policy; the new policy now requires lawmakers to use their own money, not taxpayer funds, to settle suits for workplace sexual harassment. The new policy no longer allows members of Congress to use tax dollars to pay for sexual harassment settlements. Provisions such as […]
Women’s and Labor Rights Advocates hold Enough is Enough Summit on Sex Harassment
Last week the Enough is Enough Summit and Briefing on Capitol Hill harnessed the momentum of the #MeToo movement to bring together a diverse group of lawyers, activists, and policy makers to think through comprehensive survivor-centered policy solutions to the sexual harassment and violence epidemic in workplaces and schools.
Congresswomen Demand Action on Equal Rights Amendment
Congresswomen Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) took to the House floor yesterday to urge for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would grant constitutional protection from discrimination based on sex.
CVS Will Refund 11,000 Customers Illegally Charged for Birth Control
Congresswoman Jackie Speier alerted the chain that they were acting in violation of the Affordable Care Act earlier this month. Now, CVS has promised to issue refunds by October 1.