THE WEEK IN WASHINGTON
The Equal Rights Amendment is the Law of the Land
In one of his final acts as President of the United States, Joe Biden declared the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) the law of the land as the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ERA was first introduced over 100 years ago as a sequel to the 14th Amendments promise of equality under the law, declaring that:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
As a state senator, I was proud to carry legislation with Mamie Locke and then-Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy to make Virginia the 38th and final state necessary to ratify the ERA. It was a moment of poetic justice that our Commonwealth — the birthplace of American Democracy and the birthplace of American slavery — would put the ERA over the top with legislation passed by three generations of Black women. As a Vice Chair of the Congressional ERA Caucus, I am determined to ensure that the ERA’s enforcement occurs without delay.
You can read my full statement here, and listen to my conversation on Mornings with Zerlina about what President Biden’s declaration means here. Watch my similar conversation with Katie Phang on MSNBC’s The Katie Phang Show about the ERA and more here and below.
My First Bill of the 119th Congress Helps Farmers Respond to Climate Change
Last week, I introduced my first bill of the 119th Congress, the bipartisan Coordination for Soil Carbon Research and Monitoring Act (H.R. 641). This bill, which I also introduced in the 118th Congress, will support local farmers by streamlining the federal government’s efforts around soil carbon sequestration. Also called “soil farming” or “regenerative agriculture,” soil carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in soil. These innovative land management practices make farmland more resilient to droughts, heavy rainfall, and other extreme weather conditions, while helping reduce one of the largest contributors to climate change from the air.
Agriculture is the number one private industry in our Commonwealth, yet too many farmers experience the detrimental impacts of climate change, including smaller crop yields and loss of revenue. My bipartisan legislation will establish an interagency committee to streamline and coordinate soil carbon research across the federal government. This bill represents an important step toward ensuring we leverage every available technology to support our farmers and ranchers.
Introducing Legislation to Help Fight Wildfires
The horrific wildfires in Los Angeles and Maui have made it clear that we must leverage every tool at our disposal to improve wildfire response. To that end, I joined Congressman Vince Fong (R-CA-20) to reintroduce the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response (“ACERO Act”) to support NASA’s efforts to use drones to fight wildfires by allowing them to fly in low-visibility situations where it’s unsafe for manned aircrafts to take flight. The 100-mile per hour winds in Los Angeles demonstrated how difficult fighting wildfires can be in the midst of an extreme weather event. And with climate change exacerbating wildfires and extreme weather events, the ACERO Act will allow NASA to ensure we’re doing everything we can to both protect our communities and support our brave first responders.
New Committee Assignment: Energy & Commerce
With a new Congress, my committee assignments have changed. I am excited to now be a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee, the oldest continuous standing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Originally established in 1795 to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, Energy & Commerce now has the broadest jurisdiction of any authorizing committee in Congress. I serve on the Energy Subcommittee and the Communications & Technology Subcommittee. Last week, the Communications and Technology Committee held a hearing on “Strengthening American Leadership in Wireless Technology.” You can watch my remarks and questions here.
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