A federal judge ruled Friday that a number of states that voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in recent years were too late in their approval for it to be added to the Constitution. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington, D.C., was a defeat for Illinois, Nevada and Virginia, which had lobbied the court to declare that the amendment should be added after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2020. The three states sued in January 2020 to argue that Congress had no right to establish a 1982 ratification deadline for the ERA, but Contreras upheld the deadline. ADVERTISEMENT “[A] ratification deadline in a proposing resolution’s introduction is just as effective as one in the text of a proposed amendment. Plaintiffs’ ratifications came after both the original and extended deadlines that Congress attached to the ERA, so the Archivist is not bound to record them as valid,” Contreras ruled . The states have the option to appeal the ruling, and the issue could end up at the Supreme Court. Friday's ruling is a blow to ERA proponents who had expressed optimism that the amendment would finally be added after Virginia’s vote last year. Amendments must get the support of three-fourths of the nation’s 50 states to be added to the Constitution. The ERA would add language to the Constitution ensuring 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.” It would also grant Congress the power to enforce the amendment. The amendment was originally proposed in 1972 and passed both chambers of Congress with broad margins. Congress at the time said the ERA would be formally added when 38 states ratified it "within seven years from the date of submission by the Congress." That deadline was extended, but only to 1982. Contreras maintained his ruling was not a judgement of the ERA’s language, but “merely enforces a procedural time ...
Power outage
Senate braces for ‘God-awful,’ ‘stupid’ session ahead of COVID-19 relief vote
Senators on Friday are bracing for an hours-long marathon session as Democrats race to pass a sweeping coronavirus relief bill. The Senate will start a vote-a-rama, a free-wheeling session where any senator will be able to force a vote on a potential change to the nearly $1.9 trillion bill, at noon. “This ... is a chaotic process to start with, and it’s certainly working out that way,” said Sen. John Thune John Randolph Thune Senate holds longest vote in history as Democrats scramble to save relief bill Biden helps broker Senate deal on unemployment benefits Democrats break COVID-19 impasse with deal on jobless benefits MORE (R-S.D.). ADVERTISEMENT Sen. Dick Durbin Dick Durbin Democrats break COVID-19 impasse with deal on jobless benefits COVID-19 relief debate stalls in Senate amid Democratic drama Democrats close in on deal to provide tax relief for unemployment recipients MORE (D-Ill.) described the hectic session as “god-awful” and dilatory given that Senate Democrats are expected to have the votes to pass the coronavirus bill — it’s just a question of when. “It will come to an end. I don't know if it will be one day or five days. ... It’s a total waste of time. I wish we could change it,” Durbin said. Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham Senate holds longest vote in history as Democrats scramble to save relief bill Biden helps broker Senate deal on unemployment benefits Senate braces for 'God-awful,' 'stupid' session ahead of COVID-19 relief vote MORE (R-S.C.) said a vote-a-rama allows senators to force votes, something they aren’t normally able to do, but added that it was also “stupid.” The session comes after the Senate was in session until early Friday morning after Sen. Ron Johnson Ronald (Ron) Harold Johnson Johnson says leaving office after 2022 'probably my preference now' The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - Senate begins marathon ...
The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by ExxonMobil – Senate begins marathon vote-a-rama before $1.9T COVID-19 relief passage
Presented by ExxonMobil Ron Johnson Ronald (Ron) Harold Johnson Johnson says leaving office after 2022 'probably my preference now' The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - Senate begins marathon vote-a-rama before .9T COVID-19 relief passage Senate braces for 'God-awful,' 'stupid' session ahead of COVID-19 relief vote MORE " width="580" height="326" data-delta="1" /> To view past editions of The Hill's 12:30 Report, click here: http://bit.ly/1M1mIfw To receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox, please sign up here: http://bit.ly/1Tt4hqN --> A midday take on what's happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* *Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha--breaks down crying hysterically. The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Senate vote-a-rama begins | Dems near agreement on unemployment benefits | Reduce boost to $300 | Republicans try to make Dems miserable before passing $1.9T COVID-19 relief | US economy adds 379K jobs in Feb., doubles predictions | Pope’s first international travel in a year, arrives in Iraq | CDC delays guidelines for vaccinated Americans | National Cheese Doodle Day HAPPENING IN THE SENATE The phrase vote-a-rama still feels to me like an ‘SNL’ skit on Congress: The Senate has begun a marathon vote-a-rama before passing the massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package with a simple majority through budget reconciliation. Lol, this is accurate : Via Politico’s Caitlin Emma, Marianne Levine and Burgess Everett, “The protracted ordeal, known as “vote-a-rama,” is widely despised by members of both parties and guaranteed to leave sleepless members running on fumes just ahead of the bill’s passage in the upper chamber, likely Saturday. But there's no way around it.” https://politi.co/3kKyZzG What happened this morning to kick off votes : “Had [Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)] wanted to delay the start of votes, he could have objected early this ...
Pope Francis lands in Iraq for historic papal visit
Pope Francis Pope Francis Overnight Defense: White House open to reforming war powers | Army base might house migrant children | Fauci scolds military on vaccine The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - Senate begins marathon vote-a-rama before .9T COVID-19 relief passage Pope Francis lands in Iraq for historic papal visit MORE on Friday landed in Iraq for a historic first-ever papal visit to the country as it deals with the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing political conflict. The purpose of the trip is to encourage Iraq's Christian population, which has been violently persecuted by the Islamic State group. The pope’s four-day trip to the majority Muslim country will also include the first papal visit with a grand ayatollah, Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani, over the weekend. ADVERTISEMENT Before leaving, the 84-year-old said he would proceed to Iraq “God willing” and that he had long wanted to visit people who have "suffered so much,” according to The Washington Post . Previously, Pope John Paul II had attempted to make a visit to the country two decades ago, but the trip was canceled by then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. “One cannot disappoint a people for the second time,” Francis said. “Let us pray that this journey can be done well.” However, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq issued a warning to American citizens in the country about extremist attacks on Friday while the pope was en route. “Attacks may occur with little or no warning, impacting airports, tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities. Iraqi and Western facilities and places frequented by U.S. citizens and other Westerners may also be targeted,” the alert read. The trip comes amid ongoing violence in the country. On Wednesday, an airbase housing U.S.-led coalition troops at Al Asad was attacked by at least 10 rockets. ADVERTISEMENT There are no reports of U.S. service members being injured and ...
Biden turns focus to next priority with infrastructure talks
President Biden Joe Biden Senate holds longest vote in history as Democrats scramble to save relief bill Ex-Trump appointee arrested in Capitol riot complains he won't be able to sleep in jail Biden helps broker Senate deal on unemployment benefits MORE is starting to look beyond coronavirus relief to his next legislative fight, preparing to lay out a recovery package that makes significant investments in rebuilding U.S. infrastructure. Biden met with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Pete Buttigieg The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - Senate begins marathon vote-a-rama before .9T COVID-19 relief passage The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Virus relief bill headed for weekend vote Biden turns focus to next priority with infrastructure talks MORE and a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for over an hour on Thursday afternoon, his second bipartisan meeting with the group over the past month. The president is expected to lay out his “Build Back Better” recovery plan sometime after the Senate passes its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, which the chamber took up on Thursday and could pass by the weekend. While the White House has been mum on details of the recovery plan, it’s likely to at least partly mirror the $2 trillion infrastructure and climate proposal he laid out on the campaign trail and include a hefty investment in infrastructure to spur job creation. ADVERTISEMENT Lawmakers from both parties described Thursday’s meeting as productive, though it remains to be seen whether Biden can use his legislative chops to usher in bipartisan cooperation on major legislation. Former President Trump Donald Trump Trump announces new tranche of endorsements DeSantis, Pence tied in 2024 Republican poll Lawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops at Capitol sickened from tainted food MORE ran on a ...
