FIGHTING TO GUARANTEE EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL WOMEN UNDER THE CONSTITUTION

On 2025-03-27, Representative Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29) delivered a floor speech titled "FIGHTING TO GUARANTEE EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL WOMEN UNDER THE CONSTITUTION" in the House.

FIGHTING TO GUARANTEE EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL WOMEN UNDER THE CONSTITUTION

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 56 (Thursday, March 27, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 56 (Thursday, March 27, 2025)] [House] [Page H1306] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] FIGHTING TO GUARANTEE EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL WOMEN UNDER THE CONSTITUTION (Ms. GARCIA of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, yes, that is me in 1977. I was a young law student representing Texas at the historic International Women's Year conference in Houston. Ann Richards was right behind me. She was getting ready to make a speech on the ERA. She would go on to be Governor, and I went on to serve in the city, county, State, and now here in Federal Government. That day, we were doing what I am doing right now: fighting for the equal rights amendment, fighting to guarantee equal rights for all women under the Constitution. I still have the ERA pin I wore that day. I have kept it for nearly 50 years because the fight isn't over. This week, I stood with powerful women in Congress to introduce a resolution that removes our final barrier: the arbitrary deadline set decades ago. If it passes, the ERA becomes the 28th Amendment. We must pass this resolution. We must remove all barriers to women because our rights don't have deadlines. Our rights are human rights. ____________________