Establishing the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Key claim: Joint resolution HJRES80 declares that the Equal Rights Amendment prohibiting sex discrimination was validly ratified by three-fourths of the states and is therefore part of the Constitution, regardless of the original 1979/1982 deadlines or later rescissions.
Abstract
(HJRES80 · 119th Congress) This joint resolution provides that the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, was ratified by three-fourths of the states and is therefore a valid constitutional amendment, regardless of any time limit that was in the original proposal. The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation. Latest action (2025-03-24): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Why this matters
The ERA would establish an explicit constitutional prohibition on sex-based discrimination, potentially strengthening the legal footing for challenges to laws and policies that treat people differently based on sex — including in areas such as pay equity, reproductive access, and LGBTQ protections. Because the amendment’s status turns on contested questions about ratification deadlines and state rescissions, a joint resolution declaring it ratified is a formal political step rather than a self-executing legal change, and its practical effect depends on how courts and executive agencies respond.