Despite these tremendous odds, I am happy to tell you that we successfully reelected every one of our courageous State Legislators who voted NO on ERA. However, it was mighty close! We barely squeaked through in several races. But our tremendous efforts in Illinois have drained us financially. We used all our resources because we knew that Illinois was a crucial state. Now we face another major crisis - the North Carolina Primary on May 2. I know the libs will pull out all the stops in their desperate attempt to win. When North Carolina defeated ERA last year, it was by a margin of only two votes in the Senate. If the libs can defeat two of our Senators, they feel they can ratify ERA in January 1979. Please send your most generous donation by return mail. We have fought so hard for six long years. It would be a terrible tragedy if we lost now for the lack of the necessary money to continue our efforts for the remaining eleven months. In addition to your own contribution, please ask your friends. I know there are so many people who want to help to defeat ERA but they don't know what to do. Tell them the way they can help is to send money for use in the critical states. The way to keep ERA from ever becoming the law in your state is to get the truth to the people about ERA in the critical states where the battle is still being waged. Please schedule fund-raising events to raise money to defeat ERA: rummage sales, bake sales, film showings. Take an envelope with you and ask your friends for their contributions. The cause is so important and the need is so great that you should not be ashamed to ask for the funds necessary to do the job. We will win this battle if all of us do our part. The lib-lesbian debacle at Houston, the defeat of Bella Abzug in New York, the Kentucky rescission of ERA, and our election victories in Illinois, all prove that the momentum is going against ERA. There is truly a pro-family awakening. Please do your part counting on you to help now. Make your check to Stop ERA and send it in the enclosed envelope. I am Hyllia Sceafly March 21, three Legislatore by a tiny margi votes, one by 85 votes, We will never for gwe we wow by 68 margue (one one and ourselves if we lose three such small North Carolina Legislators by margus. us now. [Austin American Statesman, May 7, 1978] ERA QUEST PUTS WOMEN ON ROAD One recent Saturday, I found myself riding through the fringes of a tornado on the outskirts of Little Rock and in the company of Erma Bombeck and Judy Carter. We were searching through sheets of blinding rain for a red mailbox, which marked the home of our long-awaited dinner. It was near 9 in the evening and we had been speaking and working since 5:30 to win the "last unratified country music state-Arkansas" for the Equal Rights Amendment. Starvation had set in and I was ready to stick my head out of the window and try to chew the rain, but Erma warned, "Watch those $2 permanents. They frizz !" It is in these times of extreme discomfort the times that try women's soulsthat I begin to wonder: Why do we do it? What are we three doing in Little Rock on a rainy weekend? After all, here was Judy Carter, poised, beautiful, potential policy-maker who could be sitting in the yellow Oval Room of the White House with her famous father-in-law sipping Amaretto and cream. He might even say something like, "Judy, we're having a little problem in the Middle East. Any ideas? And Judy, wife of Jack and mother of 2-year-old Jason, might wittily reply, "How about making Ham Jordan ambassador to Egypt? He's got a thing about pyramids!" I looked at Erma. She could be playing tennis in Arizona all weekend-sex symbol of the Scottsdale tennis courts. But instead, here she was working for ERA through the laundermats of Tulsa, the septic tanks of Little Rock. To borrow her phrase, "If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?" As for me, I had left my typewriter and bubbling, heated spa in sunny Austin that morning to fly to Arkansas through threatening skies. That's the way the whole month had been. Last week I had seen the sun rise in Georgia, spoken to 500 deans of women in Michigan, and been home to attend a christening party at 8:30 that evening in Texas. If God had meant our bodies to do all that in one day-cover 12 states from 30,000 feet-he would have given us an automatic pilot instead of a heart. By now, the red mailbox had loomed and we took off our shoes and sloshed through the rain to the house, headed for the buffet table, and plomped down in more comfortable surroundings to ponder the question I had put to them: why are we here? "Because," said Erma, "when my grandchildren ask, 'In the battle of the sexes, what did you do, grandma?' I don't want to have to reply, 'I gave at the office.' "Because," she continued, "I'm tired of all the stereotypes being applied to those who are for the Equal Rights Amendment. I don't want to be 'just' anything... 'justa' housewife, or 'justa' writer." What about Judy? It would be easy enough to assume she was there because the president sent her. But that's under-estimating Judy who has been out on the speaking circuit for ERA, alone, and co-starred with Maureen Reagan, daughter of Ronald, who is a Republican and doesn't even agree with her. "Women have reached the desperation level about ERA," Judy said. "In New York last week, there were three fundraisers in great restaurants and stars from the broadway stage were eager to perform free. Everyone wanted to know what they could do. Coming here, making appearances to rally women is what I can do, and I'm going to continue doing it for my children and their children and myself." And me? What was a shy, retiring homebody who doesn't relish flying doing bouncing around between the 15 unratified states? I do it because I can't not do it. We are so close to victory after 200 years and now is the time-the countdown on ERA-before March 22, 1979, when we must have three more states for ratification. I do it because of indignation: that women were left out in the first place and have always fought other people's battles in lieu of their own. I do it because figure life has been good to me and I have the chance to say thanks in this one area of human progress. The Lord won't like me very well if I don't. And I won't like myself very well either. When you get down to it, I think the answer for all three of us-Erma, Judy and me-is the same. We believe that justice and equality belong to all of us, that women should be able to go as far as our aspirations and abilities can take us, and we think that in some small way our efforts may make a difference. Arizona... 8, 1979. Florida........ Georgia.... Illinois..... Louisiana..... Mississippi.. North Carolina. South Carolina... Legislative action to date in 1978 Defeated in Senate 24 to 8. None. Convenes on Jan. 8, 1979, for un- Half of Senate all of House... No session. Convenes on Apr. 3, 1979, for 60 Convenes Jan. 8, 1979 for 12 days to All.. Convenes on Apr. 16, 1979, for 60 Convenes on Jan. 2, 1979 for 90 days Convenes on Jan. 10, 1979, for un- Convenes on Jan. 2, 1979, for 90 Convenes on Jan. 9, 1979, for un- Convenes on Jan. 10, 1979, for 30 None. Defeated in Senate Committee unanimously. All of House; 3% of Senate. Currently pending considera None.. do. All of House; half of Senate... All of House; half of Senate... tion. None. All of House; none of Senate.. Defeated in Senate 23 to 8. 1 Session convenes after Mar. 22, 1979, deadline for ERA ratification has passed. Defeated in House committee 12 to 18. 1 Ratified only after the amendment had been certified as part of the Constitution in 1920. 1976/77 COMMITTEE AND FLOOR VOTES 1920 1 1971 1920 1 1969 1919 1 1952 Mr. EDWARDS. Our next witness is Senator Robert Egan from the State of Illinois. We welcome you. We understand you have a plane to catch. We certainly will try to accommodate you. Without objection, the senator's statement will be made a part of the record. [The prepared statement of Hon. Robert Egan follows:] STATEMENT BY HON. ROBERT EGAN, ILLINOIS STATE SENATOR, 16TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT To the members of the Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary: I am State Senator Robert J. Egan from Illinois. I represent 190,000 citizens residing in the 16th Legislative District, located on the northwest side of the City of Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Since March 22, 1972, when the Equal Rights Amendment Resolution was adopted by the Congress, Illinois has been wrestling with the issue each year. In fact, Illinois has spent more time on the issue over the last seven legislative years than any other state. It is my understanding that the most time spent on any other Constitutional amendment was four years. I voted in favor of the E.R.A. amendment after careful and thoughtful consideration. I am fully supportive of the concept of non-discrimination between the sexes and, in fact, voted for ratification of the 1970 Illinois Constitution which contains a strong non-discrimination clause. Ever since the E.R.A. issue was initially put to the Illinois General Assembly, demonstrations for and against have been held throughout Illinois, particularly in the Capital City of Springfield. In addition to the scores of demonstrations, there have been literally thousands of letters. Each letter requires an answer which has to be dictated to a secretary and then typed. Stationery must be purchased and mailing expenses incurred. Phone calls are received by the dozens even at home. In a typical legislative week, the Capitol building is besieged by hundreds of proponents on Monday, followed by hundreds of opponents on Tuesday. I do not intend to demean in any way the sincerity and dedication of the participants; they are quite properly exercising the fundamental right to petition and express their sentiments and wishes in the matter. And they must be accommodated. Now, economic boycotting is being utilized in an attempt to achieve passage of the Resolution, and I have been threatened often with retaliation at the pollsby both sides. A seven-year extension would, in my opinion, seriously impede the orderly processes of state government in Illinois. We face a shortage of time to consider major issues and problems confronting our state-issues involving education, mental health, environmental concerns, highway needs and, of course, a precarious finanical crisis. Decisions made by the General Assembly affect every corner of the state, and every citizen. Our legislative activities affect county and city government, from metropolitan areas like Rockford and Chicago to the North, to villages with names like Mounds and Rosebud and Dongola to the south. We need as much time as possible to attempt to balance a budget while still meeting the increased demands for services and strong opposition to tax increases. We need time to develop and enact a school-aid formula that is fair and equitable and will remove some pressure from overburdened real estate taxpayers. We need time to come up with a sweeping reform in the mental health field, so that patients will receive the kind of care and protection they deserve. We need time to consider a $10 billion-plus budget, which is larger than the budgets of a majority of the nations in the world. For these reasons, I respectfully urge this Subcommitee to recommend to the full Committee on the Judiciary that the request for extension of the time-limitation embodied in the orginal Resolution be denied. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Subcommittee, for allowing me to offer this testimony. Mr. EDWARDS. I recognize the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. McClory. Mr. McCLORY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you recognizing me. I would like to extend a warm welcome to Senator Egan and to express the appreciation of the entire subcommittee for your appearance here today and for your strong support on behalf of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. As you will recall, I had the privilege of 10 years of service in the Illinois State Senate before coming to the Congress. I welcome you and am very appreciative of the fact that you have come here to offer your testimony. Thank you. Mr. EDWARDS. Thank you. You may proceed. TESTIMONY OF ROBERT J. EGAN, ILLINOIS STATE SENATOR FOR THE 16TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT Senator EGAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and members. Bob, it's a pleasure that I have a chance to see you. We're so busy, |