S.J. Res. 38 (119th)Bill Overview

A joint resolution establishing the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues|Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Cosponsors
Support
Bipartisan
Introduced
Mar 25, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief

S.J. Res. 38 declares that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), proposed in House Joint Resolution 208 (92nd Congress, 1972), is valid as part of the U.S. Constitution notwithstanding any time limit in the original joint resolution.

The joint resolution states the ERA has been ratified by legislatures of three-fourths of the states and is therefore part of the Constitution.

Passage30/100

No fiscal cost and simple text help, but strong ideological controversy, absence of compromise features, and procedural/legal hurdles lower chances.

CredibilityPartially aligned

Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is concise and explicit in its primary legal declaration but sparse in procedural and implementation detail.

Contention75/100

Process legitimacy: liberals/centrists accept retroactive ratification; conservatives insist on original deadline

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Who this appears to help vs burden50% / 50%
Federal agenciesEmployers
Likely helped
  • Targeted stakeholdersConstitutional prohibition on sex-based discrimination would be clarified nationwide.
  • Targeted stakeholdersIt could strengthen litigation and enforcement against sex discrimination in employment and benefits.
  • Federal agenciesFederal and state laws may be revised to conform with constitutional equal-rights standards.
Likely burdened
  • Targeted stakeholdersLikely litigation and legal uncertainty over validity of ratification despite the historical deadline.
  • EmployersMay increase regulatory compliance costs for employers and governments revising sex-based rules.
  • Targeted stakeholdersCould disrupt existing sex-specific programs, benefits, or safety standards, triggering challenges.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Process legitimacy: liberals/centrists accept retroactive ratification; conservatives insist on original deadline
Progressive95%

Likely strongly supportive.

Views the resolution as correcting an arbitrary technical barrier and finally enshrining constitutional gender equality.

Sees legal and symbolic advances for civil rights.

Leans supportive
Centrist70%

Generally supportive but cautious.

Sees merit in resolving a longstanding constitutional question, while wanting clarity on legal implications and costs of litigation.

Prefers procedural steps to reduce uncertainty.

Leans supportive
Conservative15%

Likely opposed.

Emphasizes procedural and constitutional concerns about ignoring an original time limit and potential state rescissions.

Worried about federal overreach and uncertain policy consequences.

Likely resistant
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood30/100

No fiscal cost and simple text help, but strong ideological controversy, absence of compromise features, and procedural/legal hurdles lower chances.

Scope and complexity
52%
Scopemoderate
24%
Complexitylow
Why this could stall
  • Level of floor support in each chamber is unknown
  • Whether Senate procedural thresholds (filibuster/cloture) would be invoked
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Process legitimacy: liberals/centrists accept retroactive ratification; conservatives insist on original deadline

No fiscal cost and simple text help, but strong ideological controversy, absence of compromise features, and procedural/legal hurdles lower…

Unlocked analysis

Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is concise and explicit in its primary legal declaration but sparse in procedural and implementation detail.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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