WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Katko voted Thursday against extending the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment for women, landmark legislation passed by Congress in 1972.

The Democratic-controlled House voted mostly along party lines (232-183) to pass the measure, extending the original 1982 deadline for states to ratify the ERA.

At least three-fourths of states (38) must ratify an amendment for it to be added to the U.S. Constitution. Last month, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, enough to amend the Constitution.

But President Donald Trump’s Justice Department argued in a memo last month that the ERA cannot be ratified because the deadline expired almost 40 years ago. Virginia, Illinois and Nevada – the last three states to ratify the amendment – have filed a federal lawsuit to challenge the Trump administration’s interpretation.

House Democrats who voted to extend the ratification date said the 1982 deadline was arbitrary, and not a requirement of the Constitution.

Five Republicans, including Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, split with their party and voted with a unanimous block of 227 Democrats to pass the resolution Thursday.

Katko, R-Camillus, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, said after the vote that they believe the ERA process needs to start over.

“As members of Congress, we have a long record of strongly supporting the spirit of equality and have led the effort on important initiatives like equal pay for equal work and paid leave for working parents,” Katko and Stefanik said in a joint statement.

“As it stands, this legislation is unconstitutional, and we agree with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The process for the Equal Rights Amendment began nearly five decades ago, and it needs to start over,” the Upstate Republicans said.

Ginsburg, a longtime supporter of the ERA, said earlier this week that the amendment’s backers should start the process from scratch.

“There’s too much controversy about late comers,” Ginsburg said in remarks at Georgetown University. “Plus, a number of states have withdrawn their ratification. So, if you count a latecomer on the plus side, how can you disregard states that said, ‘We’ve changed our minds’?”

The resolution passed by the House on Thursday will likely fail to advance in the Republican-led Senate. Some conservative groups oppose the measure, saying it could lead to the removal of some federal restrictions on abortion.

The amendment gives women equal rights under the law. New York was one of the first states to ratify the amendment, passing it in May 1972. If ratified, the ERA would become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

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