Van Drew drops co-sponsorship of ERA extension

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) is no longer co-sponsoring a move to extend the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, representing a reversal of a position he took during his first term in Congress.

As a Democrat, Van Drew co-sponsored the measure in 2019.  Even after his party switch voted, he voted with House Democrats to remove the deadline almost a year ago.  He was one of five Republicans to do so.

The measure passed the House, 232-183, but it died in the Senate when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell never allowed a vote.

With Democrats now in control of the Senate and House, the resolution to extend the ratification deadline is back.  All ten Democrats in the New Jersey delegation have re-upped their co-sponsorship.

Also co-sponsoring the plan: Rep. Tom Reed (R-New York), the co-chairman of the House Problem Solvers Caucus.

While Van Drew has quietly removed his name from some bills he had signed on to as a Democratic congressman after his party switch, he remained as an ERA backer.

The ERA was approved by Congress in 1972 required ratification by 38 states by 1979.  It fell 3 states short, even with an extension to 1982.

Renewed interest in the ERA came when Nevada ratified it anyway in 2017 and Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020.

The U.S. House of Representatives originally approved the constitutional amendment on October 12, 1971 by a 324-24 vote.  Thirteen New Jersey House members voted yes: Reps. John Hunt (R-Pitman), James Howard (D-Spring Lake Heights), Frank Thompson (D-Trenton), Peter Frelinghuysen (R-Harding), William Widnall (R-Ridgewood), Bob Roe (D-Wayne), Henry Helstoski (D-East Rutherford), Peter Rodino (D-Newark), Joseph Minish (D-West Orange), Cornelius Gallagher (D-Bayonne), Dominick Daniels (D-Jersey City), Edwin Forsythe (R-Moorestown), and the only woman in the New Jersey delegation, Florence Dwyer (R-Elizabeth).

The only no vote from New Jersey was cast by Rep. Charles Sandman (R-Cape May Court House).  Sandman held the seat currently occupied by Van Drew.

The ERA was passed by the Senate on March 23, 1972.  Both of New Jersey’s U.S. Senators voted yes: Republican Clifford Case and Democrat Harrison Williams.

Helped by the time difference, the Hawaii Legislature voted to ratify on the same day.

New Jersey became the 12th state to ratify the ERA on April 17, 1972.  The Assembly voted 62-4 in favor of ratification.   The Senate had voted for ratification on March 28, 34-0.  Both houses were controlled by Republicans at the time.

Assemblywoman Ann Klein (D-Morris Township) voted for ratification, even though she opposed sending women into combat.  Klein said she was equally opposed to sending men to fight.

A bid to extend the ratification deadline in 1983 failed to pass the House by six votes.  Of New Jersey’s fourteen House members, just Forsythe and Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton) voted against the measure.