On Capitol Hill, a House Judiciary subcommittee on Tuesday held the first congressional hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment in more than 35 years. The proposed constitutional amendment states simply, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” The ERA was approved by Congress in 1972 and was ratified by 35 states over the next decade—three states short of the required total needed by a 1982 deadline. A bill by Congressmember Jackie Speier would eliminate that deadline.