Team – 

The House took action last week on two long-overdue pieces of policy: the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

Republicans let VAWA expire two years ago – an absolutely unacceptable act of obstruction for a bill that helps keep women safe and holds abusers accountable. Every woman has the right to live her life free of abuse.

The story of the ERA goes even further back: 1979 was the date Congress originally set for state legislatures to consider the ERA, a proposed amendment to our Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. The Equal Rights Amendment ensures that women are equal in the eyes of the law.

Through 1977, the amendment received 35 of the necessary 38 state ratifications. But since 2017, three more states have ratified, clearing the way to ensure that the rights women have fought to secure over the years are enshrined in our founding document!

So the House took action last week to remove the deadline to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.

I want to say loud and clear: Women deserve full and equal protection under the law.

If you want to join me, add your name here and if you’d like, there’s a space to share your story about how legislation like VAWA or the ERA would change your or your loved ones’ lives. Or, in honor of Women’s History Month, share a favorite memory of a history-making woman in your life!

This Women’s History Month – and during a global pandemic that has been especially challenging for women – I won’t stop fighting for equal pay, universal child care, reproductive freedom, and equality for all.

Thanks for standing with me,

– David