In 1972, the 92nd Congress passed H.J. Res. 208, which proposed an amendment to the Constitution providing that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the federal government or by states on the basis of sex (known as the equal rights amendment). That resolution contained a seven-year deadline—later extended to 1982—by which three-quarters of the states could vote to ratify the amendment.
H.J. Res. 79 would permanently reopen the ratification process for the amendment by eliminating the deadline. By itself, CBO estimates that the resolution would have no effect on the federal budget. If the states approve the proposed amendment, it could potentially affect the federal budget; however, CBO has not analyzed those effects.
