Since 1979 we have in your primary source for capitol hill, providing balanced unfiltered coverage of government. Taking you to where what s debated and decided all with the support of americas cable companies. Cspan, 45 years and and counting, powered by cable. Democratic reps Ayanna Pressley and could bush talked about the importance of the equal rights amendment which protects individuals against sex discrimination both serve as cochairs of the congressional caucus for the equal rights amendment. To date 35 of the required 38 states have ratified the amendment. This Georgetown University discussion is about 40 minutes. Weve had a phone morning talking about the impediments to everyone recognizing era as a 28 amendment. In some respects, in every respect equal rights amendment has met the constitutional requirements for being the 20th amendment but not everyone agrees. And so you as cofounder and cochair of the dra caucus in congress have been taking some measures, trying to move through Congress Several different legislative ways of communicating some of those objections. So talk to us all bit about what your strategy is to get the era finally finished. So first of all good afternoon, everyone. And thank you all for waiting. We had chaos on the floor but, but its congress. You know, i remember in 212022. 2022. No, november to december 2022, this thinking about what happens next with the era, Carolyn Maloney was about to leave congress along with jackie speier. Both of them carrying era legislation, and just to get what is next. How do we keep this going. Ive multiple conversations with Carolyn Maloney and just decided you know what, we have to be able to organize within congress and what, i couldnt find a way where we could, people do care about era will be could come together to really like mobilize within congress. And so i just said you know what, ive not heard anyone talk about it but the only way to start one come to doubt what start one. So representative presley and i we talked about getting this going because for us it cant be just the same folks. It cant be the same folks saying the same thing meeting the same trump all the time. We need open up for more folks. We need to see people from different districts who have a different set of issues than what we have. But the era would affect everyone in of extensive but we understand the top issues may be different. But what the era will do for people in egeland district, we need people to see that. The other thing is that this, for those that dont know, which i think this would be a joke, but if we dont but information a lot of times right in front of members of congress, then it will not have that information. You know, you have a lot of time to go and go do this deep research and something that is always evolving. So for us we said okay, i dont want to put together this caucus, we want this to be way for people to have information that only about whats happening federally but in their own states and then your neighboring state. Because we think that is important as well. As so we did. We felt like if we give people the house, we keep the home, but to also give you all the information, you dont have doing homework. But then he could to take this and can with your district and you get to talk about it that all your districts come here to go and talk about the era and whats happening, then you can work the ground in your local areas. That was the first thing. But then also the multiple vehicles. Representative pressley has her legislation and discharge petition actually. Her legislation is about the deadline compostela and that should not be in place. So we support the legislation with both supporting each others legislation. My legislation says the era is already the 28 and we just need the archivist of the united unid states, sort of publish it as such. Weve had a conversation with her, and well keep having those conversations. I think a belt and suspenders strategy is good both measures pass. It would create a series of political facts that make it undeniable that the era is the 28th amendment. Why is it so important were fighting for this . Because we breathe. [laughing] you know . Because we still exist. So thats why we have to keep fighting for it. Some glad we have these two ways people to get at it because the thing is it what one is got and we need to be on that trained and have the other one ready in case that we doesnt work, vice versa, but we, when we talk about the era, ill say this. I through the years never really talked about the era, didnt care much about it through the years. And particularly one, because i thought it was done. I just like there was no conversations about this in my local community. No one was talk about the era. Also we were fighting Police Brutality in st. Louis, tried to keep my site alive from being murdered by the police which is a big give you a ton to keep my lights are guys trying to survive and thrive as the singlepayer. I just wasnt, he just wasnt on my mind. Because it wasnt being thrown at be through the media or social media in church or anywhere, it just wasnt a thing. But once through organizing, gesturing about just to protest and activism to movie, organizing and realizing how intersectional sermon of her issues are, and then i entered congress and started, we started talk about about the era i realized some of the things i was fighting for came up under this one umbrella. Its like we were fighting against this gender wage gap, you know . Over and over, always talk about a a member one of 20 for office, i actually had the fortitude d tell people like hey, if you are a black woman, if you are latina, if you are like, and i would give the formula, and i had a post with my formula showing that 20,000, i made 20,000 less than my white male counterparts to an exact same job, a year. So in five years how much money am i not, you know a losing just because i have a woman . But so whether it was gender wage gap, with his housing discrimination, reproductive freedom, we were trying to get reproductive justice. Without we had the freedom. We can work towards the justice and never dont even have that. You have freedom nor justice right now. So healthcare, violence against women, all of those things, so, so much of it is housed under there. Trans rights. Thats why its important because we dont have that. And women, women, the word is not even in the constitution. This enshrined gender equality in the constitution is a noun thing. We want to write the wrong that all of the ones that happen before even though we cant clear what happened. Through history we can change what happens now. Look whos joining us. My sister inservice. [applause] thank you. Representative Ayanna Pressley come also the cofounder and cochair of the era caucus in congress. Thank you so much for joining us. Yes. Thank you so much. We are talking why need the era. I guess i would ask you why did you take this up as something one of the key issues you are to work on in congress so much he wanted to create a new caucus to organize that work around . [inaudible] all right. Always good to be in Movement Work and to share a dais with by susan to research and what are my favorite Truth Tellers and justice seekers. I would say, im sure corey might have alluded to this but in the name of transparency i want to say i was someone to for very long time saw era as a movement that could be home to me. And that he didnt do with the storied history of the movement. I do have to thank congresswoman speer and maloney respectively. We thank them for their stewardship and their infancy institutional leadership to advance the era for many years. When they both retired the respectively went to each of us and asked us to take this on. Which i think that makes such an important statement that representing multiple marginalized identities. I mean to be a marginalized or oppressed person means that you have to litigate, legislate, agitate, mobilize for those things that are our birthright for everyone else. And given against the backdrop of draconian antiwoman, at the lgbtq, xenophobic, courtney to efforts from state legislatures all the way to the Supreme Court who had been enlisted coconspirators at accomplices in the absence of justice. At this moment really solve the era as part of that solution. And when he wanted since we have to be more inclusive and intersectional in our Movement Building because as how the lives lies people actually live our intersectional, saw this as an opportunity. I want people if you care about domestic violence, genderbased violence, then huge care about the era. If you care about the racial wealth gap with that 10 trillion crisis, notches a problem for black folks come as a bumper everybody, and you care about the racial wealth gap, the gender wage gap, and any other number of inequities and injustices that girls and women in this country have made a conflated part in normal as part of our conditions in this country, you should see the era. And especially given these attacks on our bodily autonomy and freedom, the prospect of a National March towards forced birth, which is all an abortion ban is. And we know who stands to be disparately impacted by that. So im here shoulder to shoulder with my sister and because this is the time, and because in my opinion the women of this country have done their part. States have done their part. Now Congress Must do theirs. If we only had gender equality enshrined in the constitution, i mean how demoralizing or eating saying that 100 plus years and if that is even still a fight with maybe the Supreme Court would not move with such callousness and recklessness in the overturn of things like roe because we would have those legal protections. I come from the era project at Columbia Law School and we did a report a yuriko we call the quality gap to the extent the existing sex discrimination lawsuit we have, and the army, that benefited anyone. Its been white women. And women of color have not been really have not benefited much at all by title vii, equal pay act, the robust antidiscrimination infrastructure that we have. What the era could do is allow congress if not command congress to strengthen those measures but also take up to distribute your time but your son being profiled. I worked frisk challenging in new york city. It was black and brown and being told because they were of the race but also because of the gender. That they were necessarily dangerous. So men could also be the beneficiaries of an era, not just women. What are your dreams . Not just we enforce the existing laws better, but what are new ways we might imagine genderbased justice in it intersectional way within the era . This is like law school final eccentric soy but the. Its okay. I was just come just want to check to see if that [inaudible] thats how women do. Shine here. We would want to ensure the quality of was. I love my male colleagues but of how many of them would of said do you want to go . Anyway, go ahead. Ive fancied quite a few questions i wanted to shine the light on my sister in this Emerald Green over here. Yes, era green. Well, you know, my dream, my dream would be where everything that we are calling for, everything that is under the umbrella of the era come some things my sister just spoke about, so what it looks like to have equality in education to the point to where we dont have the disparities when we talk about disparity of black and white women and rolling in fouryear colleges. Creating a pipeline or black girls like there is a special program for black girls to be able to maneuver the things they have to maneuver that are different to be able to end up in a, and able to apply and then end up and be successful in a fouryear college. I would love to see a world where we dont have to wonder about if this state can do with abortion different than this stick and when were not saying yes for nevada, you know . If the winner was happening in my state in missouri, where our Trans Community what we dont have parents and children reaching out saying hey, im going to have to move out of this state because of the attacks that are coming to my child and because of what the state legislature is doing. I, my dream is that the federal government says we got this and we are going to make this decision for the entire country because its just right. Because everything a person deserves the basic freedom and liberty about their own body and also their own choices. To know that like you said the era being that anchor to not only improve bills that are already on the books, to create better bills to make sure that we are, one thing, when you say this. One thing i succumbed to an in know my sister can speak to this, too, is with all these folks thinking theyre doing great things so we write these bills but if you have been through it or if you have, you know, we miss so many marginalized folks or communities because were people to think theyre doing a good job at the not because were not directly working with the pockets of those most directly impacted. Those types of bills and actually work for and help people actually gone through. The housing discrimination legislation, how does it actually work for those consumers who has been an somebody who has six kids and get moving to a a twobedroom, like how to set legislation work for those folks . I would be my dream we dont even talk about the era in more because we have it and its working so well. [applause] im concerned that you know, i can just in the spirit of transparency let me just say sometimes when youre prompted with the question of sort of what is the dream, it is harder to answer because we are in the mud and the muck right now where daily our job is really the work of reduction medication. Those are not the thing that our newspaper headlines or we can put in a press release. To the outside world, and its there, as a shared constituencies come your focus on what are we advancing. Given the current climate of which we are governing, there are many things that we stop that you will never know. So sometimes in the midst of governing under such extreme circumstances i mean ive been in congress five years, and on president is the word du jour. Im looking forward to some president times because everything has been unprecedented. Weve been navigating crises for so long. It can be hard to see the forest for the trees but it is important we have those north stars. My sisters and i, i often talk with them about is just dr. King and that historic speech in the march for jobs and freedom, but the silly he couldve listed in the moment but when jackson said tell him about the dream, its important we not lose sight of that, that we be able to articulate the dream. And so my sisters did that very effectively. The only other thing i could really and is i just want for everyone to see an investment in each others freedoms and destinies angrily sent our shared humanity. I would like for everyone to see the work of the crown act too bad racebased hair discrimination as their problem, too. I would like for everyone to care about the push out crisis and the desperate criminalization of black and brown children and in our ss simply for how they show up, for everyone to feel invested in that. And the black morbidity crisis in the criminalization of migrants. And i could go on. I think if we dont see, if were not invested in centering our shared humanity, you are going to have lawmakers who will play you. And the way in which they will play you is that they will single issue you and they will silo you. So they will come to black folks and would talk about mass incarceration which we care deeply about, but we also care about black entrepreneurship and black wealth and black joy. It will come to women and only talk about reproductive rights, which right now that needs to be so much of everything. But before the dobbs decision, before roe is overturned. I mean ive always seen bro as the floor and not the ceiling. Moreover, you cant only, to women and say that there is the only ones that should care about bodily autonomy but also not talk to women about childcare and paid leave and the gender wage gap and care economy and all of those things. You can go to our latina siblings and only talk to them about Immigration Reform because these unjust immigration laws have disparate impact on the api community and particularly the south Asian Community in my district, you know, haitian, african migrants. And moreover, my latino siblings also care about Small Business and entrepreneurship and housing, right . Im not even going to say, and you cant go to the api community because he dont even usually go to the api community. The api community some would characterize as a model minority but there believe the invisible one. And then finally, theyll go to the Lgbtq Community and im from massachusetts and we made Great Strides in healthcare reform and marriage equality, but many people walk away from the movement after marriage equality. When housing discrimination, implement this commission, healthcare discoloration was still rampant. We all have to be invested in our collective humanity and our shared struggles. Because if youre not you will have lawmakers that will play you. They are negative about our institution spicy as taking back our constitution. The majority. This is a Majority Movement so i want you comment. What you say to young people in your district . First of all, theres no person who comes to say this is what youre supposed to do, this is your movement. Theres no one who anoints you, its just a decision somebody i care about, this affects im going to use whatever tools i have hope add to this and there is no age on that. There is this need. When we talk about what you can have the book i do for you, how can i help . My shoes may become untied. But you brinkman good things to the table, it is important. All of our elders there are folks who are elders who have knowledge we dont have understanding and understand certain dynamics we dont. Congress Something White women work on. Theres no room for black women. So what i think about what this generation ratifies for anybody else they said we understand we shouldnt do this alone because it seemed what happened before and we didnt get what we needed what we are working on. We want to work with them so letting them know right now there during everything now they are imagining how far they can go also trying to do it so what you bring to the movement . We look back on the history expect who did what during this time how did we get here . What would you say . You say what you did. [applause] hope. Hope when i was talking about giving ourselves permission articulating that dream and passing on its important us Movement Builders in the trauma bond. Articulating naming, manifesting, laboring forward the dream. Advancing hope that is not hokey or but there are plenty of people motivated with fear and we want to motivate with hope. I talked about the fact that is black women of color, we are scolded for expressing anger, always being talked out the way. We feel in a way that is not fully surrendered the but no our righteous rage and a big fishing is rooted in radical left, rooted and radical left and a movement we will defy so what i will say is hope for is a discipline. I am in aquarius, a good affirmation and i love poetry and one of my closest ways movement during the pandemic shape and affirmation which is i choose the discipline of hope over the ease of cynicism and choose the discipline of hope over the schism and fortitude. I choose fortitude everyday so hope is a discipline and no each one of you are dedicated team members. We cannot do any of this without the personal sacrifice and make it easier to practice. We are winning. The goal of whites of pharmacy mark we are losing and you are alone but movement is growing and the national movement. We have the past but yet but there is a nationwide movement. Even debt cancellation here we stand today with 4 million followers over 130 million and its 1 million. There was a policy for the president didnt have authority and its now an issue they run on. Abortion, you know honey democrats were afraid . Would say maybe if you are lucky and what the issues democrats ran on so the Progressive Movement are winning. Look at immunization so they would do to believe we are winning because in the house of representatives right now is the largest Ideological Office in congress. When i came in to one 16th congress, we were about 70 members and now over 100 so you maybe shocked by that but the progressives this campaign discussing the only progressive in the race and i thought i was a term that didnt belong like i didnt even know legislator in the fight but how i was able to take on that character and its a justice civil Rights Movement. They were disrupting the status quo so the Progressive Movement is a Rights Movement we are still in so the discipline and hope and know the movement is winning and you are not alone. [applause] thank you so much. Weve only got about one more minute. They are really trying and all of this all across the country have the power on this commitment and make this a reality. Policymakers. Oftentimes the things in the unionization tenure on how they work not only here but in their local communities and where youre from. It makes our job so much easier and i have an easy job but everything is hard. Everybody wants us, people want this. Let us show you all of the work and activism but also understand they are pushing forward and have been able to show why it is needed even though we dont have the federal vra will go ahead and also this is how we were able to protect this because there was a face we want to keep that in mind that is a tool itself and lastly, what my sister and i started remember the largest but they are the fastest growing. We are 60 something. Over 50 members of u. S. House members and we are only one year old so it is the work they are doing and pushing in the era. [applause] i think for the leadership. Numbers hard to say yes to you you say change is on the way but caucus is so important for momentum and education awareness because we are shocked by the number of people who believe gender equality is already enshrined in our constitution. We just assume it so hard to give a call to action. You have your phones out . Okay. [laughter] okay. Thank you. Ask them if they are on any legislation that serves to advance the equal rights amendment. We have been exhausted as legislators because the women of this country are exhausted. The discharge position the best we are almost at that number in the 1970s. And it is too long and we do have more momentum than we had in probably 40 years. We are grateful to senator burke durbin and allies but that is my call to action. Or they are just busy. And encourage them to join the caucus and make sure it matters to you and be supportive of immobilization effort. Thank you. ,. The education component, who will make sure they get the information will make it easy. We cannot thank you enough for the energy and brilliance and the struggle a roomful of advocates here to back you up and get the bodies on the line. The letting go back to the other things were doing for you came over here. Having your time today. [applause] this afternoon senators Kyrsten Sinema of arizona, bill cassidy of louisiana, James Lankford of obama and joe manchin of West Virginia talk about the current state of american politics peeking at the annual Institute Global conference in los angeles. Live coverage begins 4 00 p. M. Eastern here on cspan2. Recently u. S. Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm testified in president bidens 2025 budget request for house energy and Commerce Committee u. S. Liquid natural g exports, appliance efficiencytandards, clean energy cld see it tonight 8 00 eastern on cspan2. He spent now, free mobile pretty graph or online at cspan. Org. It information from members of government in the palm of your hand. When you order your copy of cspans 2024 congressional directory with ir Contact Information every house and Senate Member of the 118 congress. Important information on congressional committee. The president s cabinet these and state governors. 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