NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WOMEN,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
Washington, D.C., June 20, 1978.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Office of the White House Press Secretary

THE WHITE HOUSE

The President today announced the appointment of 40 persons as members of the National Advisory Committee for Women. He also announced that Bella Abzug and Carmen Votaw will serve as co-chairpersons of the Committee, and that Judy Carter will be honorary chairperson.

The 40 persons appointed as members are:

Bella Abzug, of New York City, former member of Congress and founder of the National Women's Political Caucus;

Owanah Anderson, of Wichita Falls, Texas, member of the HEW Advisory Committee on Rights and Responsibilities of Women and of the Wichita Falls Commission on the Status of Women;

Unita Blackwell, mayor of Mayersville, Mississippi and a member of the board of Rural American Women;

Erma Bombeck, newspaper columnist and author;

Cecilia Burciaga, assistant provost of Stanford University;

Marjorie Bell Chambers, president of the American Association of University Women;

Sey Chassler, editor-in-chief of Redbook Magazine;

Mary Crisp, co-chair of the Republican National Committee;

Miriam I. Cruz, administrative assistant to Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic; Laura de Herrera, a Colorado state representative and member of the Mayor's Commission on Community Relations in Denver;

Piilani C. Desha, of Hilo, Hawaii, president of Business and Professional Women's Clubs;

Donna E. de Varona, of New York City, member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and former Olympic swimmer;

Gretta Dewald, director of the Women's Division at the Democratic National Committee;

Judith Heumann, of Berkeley, California, deputy director of the Center for Independent Living;

Koryne Horbal, of Minneapolis, U.S. representative on the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women and member of the DNC Women's Caucus;

Mildred M. Jeffrey, of Detroit, president of the National Women's Political Caucus;

Jeffalyn Johnson, former associate director, dean and senior professor at the Federal Executive Institute;

Lane Kirkland, secretary treasurer of the AFL-CIO;

Odessa Komer, vice president of the International Union of United Auto Workers;

Florine Koole, assistant to the vice president of the Communications Workers of America, District 7;

Elizabeth Koontz, assistant state superintendent of education for North Carolina;

Esther Landa, of Salt Lake City, national president of the National Council of Jewish Women;

Brownie Ledbetter, of Little Rock, Legislative Committee chair for the Organization of Business and Professional Women;

Mary Helen Madden, of Arlington, Virginia, executive director of the National Council of Catholic Women;

Billie Nave Masters, supervisor of teacher education at the University of California and member of the Indian Women's Caucus ;

Joyce Miller, of New York City, president of the Coalition of Labor Union Women;

Nancy Neuman, second vice president of the League of Women Voters;

Jean O'Leary, of New York City, co-executive director of the National Gay Task Force;

Brenda Parker, of Happy, Texas, high school senior;

35-065-7927

Claire Randall, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.;

Carolyn Reed, secretary-treasurer of Household Technicians of America and member of the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women in New York City; Ann Richards, commissioner of Travis County, Texas;

Richard Rossie, a Memphis, Tennessee, attorney and former member of the board of directors of the Women's Resource Center of Memphis;

Jill Ruckelshaus, of Medina, Washington, member of the board of trustees of the University of Puget Sound;

Eleanor Smeal, president of the National Organization for Women;

Tin Myaing Thein, of San Diego, California, co-chair of the Asian and Pacific Minority Women's Caucus;

Marlo Thomas, of Beverly Hills, actress and producer;

Carmen Delgado Votaw, of Bethesda, Maryland, president of the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women;

Maxine Waters, of Los Angeles, member of the California legislature and of the California Commission on the Status of Women;

Addie Wyatt, of Chicago, international vice president and director of women's affairs for the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union.

JUNE 26, 1978.

DEAR COMMITTEE MEMBER: Because we expect (and urge) that many of you will be coming to Washington for the July 9-10 National ERA March, we have scheduled a meeting of the Continuing Committee of the Houston National Women's Conference for Saturday, July 8, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, Independence Avenue and C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. in Room 2168 A & B (The Gold Room).

Even though our lead time is very short we hope to save you transportation and housing costs by holding the meeting at a time when many of you will be in Washington. Since the Presidential Advisory Committee appointment process was completed just yesterday, this is the earliest possible day we have been able to call a meeting of the Continuing Committee.

We know you have been working diligently to implement the Houston Plan of Action at home and it is imperative that we pull together at the national level as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions, please call Dorothe Dow or Sheryl Swed (202523-6707) at the new offices of the National Advisory Committee for Women, which will replace the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. The NACW is housed in Room C5321 of the Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.

We also urge you to undertake efforts to contact your legislators while they are in your districts during the congressional recess July 1-9 to impress upon them the importance of the extension of the ratification period for ERA.

Sincerely,

BROWNIE LEDBETTER, Temporary Chair, Continuing Committee. Enclosures: Continuing Committee List, National Advisory Committee for Women List, Fact Sheet.

UPDATED FACT SHEET-NATIONAL ERA MARCH, JULY 9, 1978, AND ERA LOBBY DAY, JULY 10, 1978

Purpose. To demonstrate through large numbers grassroots support for the ERA and the extension (1) by marching in the streets of Washington on July 9th and (2) by lobbying in the halls of Congress on July 10th.

Where.-Washington D.C. March, Sunday, July 9th; assemble at the western end of the Mall at 14th Street and Madison Drive (across the street from the Washington Monument).

Lobbying day, Monday, July 10th; briefings to be held in the Presidential room of Union Station starting at 9:00 a.m. for an all-day lobbying event.

Time.-Marchers will assemble at Mall at 11:00 a.m. (March and Rally will be completed by 6:00 p.m.).

Parade route.-North on 14th Street, East on Constitution Avenue, South on 1st Street, NW to the West steps of the Capitol. (Partial City Map enclosed). Delegations. Any group having 20 or more participants may be classified as a delegation. Two members of this delegation shall be designated as Marshalls. All delegations must register with the March Coordinating Office no later than July 1st, but delegations should make an effort to register as soon as possible.

Special features.-Processional march. This is a Processional March in which all participants will be marching in unison, behind the banner of their delegation. Individual participants choose which ever delegation they want to march with or can march under the "Individuals for the ERA" banner.

White clothing.—March participants are being urged to wear white clothing for a variety of reasons, which include:

The March is on the first anniversary of the death of Alice Paul, author of the ERA. We are trying to re-create visually the former suffrage parades in size, attractiveness and dramatic effect.

Wearing white, as the suffragists did, connects us to the history of our long struggle for equal rights.

Wearing white helps to increase the visual impact of the March-our numbers will look larger and more impressive, and will create an atmosphere of unified committment to the ERA.

The color white is cooler for the wearer, and July is an extremely hot month in Washington, D.C.

Provision for the handicapped.-We now have promises of interpreters for the deaf participants at both the assembly site and the Rally site. We also have promises of a braille broucher which Marshalls will have. All delegations are encouraged to recruit the handicapped and accommodate them within their delegations. For example, a member of the delegation might agree to guide a blind participant through-out the March. There will be limited transportation for the severely handicapped; so please contact the March Headquarters early. Marshalls.-We are putting out a call for people to volunteer to help facilitate the March as Parade Marshalls. The job of Marshall will include: keeping the March moving and the marchers enthusiastic with ERA songs and chants, getting marchers organized at the rally spot, preventing possible confrontations with hecklers, collecting donations, etc. Marshalls will receive a March Briefing and Marshall Training in D.C. the day before the March on Saturday, July 8th. Activists who have participated as Marshalls in past actions are particularly encouraged to volunteer. Send name, address, and phone number to the March Headquarters as soon as possible. Those who can serve as Marshalls, but cannot possibly come to Marshall Training should inform the March Headquarters by postcard indicating their name and delegation.

Fundraising/sales guidelines. Some delegations/organizations may want to sell commemorative buttons, T-shirts, or ERA-related items. We have strict Permit regulations to which everyone must adhere. These restrictions are as follows:

No fee may be collected, donations solicited, nor commercial activity conducted, and no articles except those expressing views in support of the ERA, through printed matter (such as newspapers, pamphlets, posters, buttons, or bumper stickers) may be offered for sale.

Our March Permit further restricts the selling of ERA items (as specified above) to the following areas only:

1. The assembly site on the Mall, and

2. Along a limited section of the March route.

Items can be sold in the street or from the sidewalk on 14th Street and on Constitution Avenue.

All ERA items must be sold from the individual's person and not from a "permanent" stationary location at any time.

Our March Permit does not allow any ERA items to be sold in the following

areas:

1. From 1st Street and Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Capitol.

2. In the area of the U.S. Capitol grounds at any time before, during, or after the rally.

Rally. Following the March, there will be a rally at the West Steps of the U.S. Capitol. Speakers will be national leaders and celebrities.

Banners. A. Tri-Colored Uniform Banners. There will be tri-colored banners of gold, purple and white vertical stripes (replicas of the Suffrage banners) for delegations to purchase and carry. Delegations are being urged to purchase the tri-colored replica banner for the March; they are available at cost for $40. Banners can be re-used for years and are light-weight, collapsible and easy to store. The deadline for ordering the March banner is June 19th, and they can be ordered by calling the March Headquarters and/or sending the registration form and/or request to NOW/National ERA March, P.O. Box 7813, Washington, D.C.

Uniform Banners are important for visual impact and the strategic link to the suffrage fight. This March is to demonstrate to Congress that there is widespread, organized, unified support for the ERA and extension. Washington, D.C. sees marches and demonstrations daily-to be distinctive, a processional march with uniform color and banner presentation will draw better media attention (as last year's Alice Paul March did in receiving National media coverage). With massive media exposure, Congress will see the message clearly that a diversity of groups with differing agendas came together to express the single resounding message: Extend the deadline and ratify ERA!

B. Non-Uniform Banners. In the event that a banner is not purchased through the March Headquarters, and the delegation wishes to carry their own nonuniform banner, that banner must meet certain requirements of our March Permits and of the National ERA March:

1. Non-uniform banners may display the name of the organization or a message in support of the ERA. No other message about any other issue may be on the banner. An ERA message is one that might say, "Flight Attendants for ERA", but not one that says "Flight Attendants' Rights and the ERA".

2. Non-uniform banners are to be carried so that the top of the banner is no higher than shoulder height (or five feet from the ground); so should be carried on a horizontal pole or hand-held horizontally.

3. Non-uniform banners should be no wider across than 15 feet. Street width prohibits excessively long banners.

4. Delegations carrying non-uniform banners who are subunits of a larger delegation having a uniform banner shall be positioned in the March following their state or national (i.e., larger) delegation. Delegations carrying non-uniform banners who are not subunits as above shall be positioned in the second half of the processional,

Bands.-There will be bands participating in the March. If you know of any bands that want to participate, please have them contact the March Headquarters. Lobbying.-July 10, 1978. National Lobbying Day. Your participation in Washington on this day is critical. Congresspeople must see us crowding their halls and offices.

Briefings are planned to be held in the Presidential Room of Union Station starting at 9:00 AM. Appointments should be made with your Congressperson before your arrival. This will be their first day back after the July 4th recess. If you live so far away that lobbying and March participation on a large scale are not possible, arrange to have large quantities of mailgrams and personal letters sent to your Congressperson to arrive on July 10th.

Each bus-load of ERA marchers should try to collect letters to Congresspersons by the boxful so these boxes can be delivered during the Lobbying Day on Monday. Housing. Since it is very important for March participants to stay overnight for the Lobbying Day on July 10th, we have investigated "low-cost" housing relatively close by. Enclosed is a list of these facilities. We are also investigating places with sleeping bag space.

A hotel/motel brochure was enclosed in the first mailing-if you need additional copies, please contact the March Headquarters. Remember that space is limited in D.C. in July as it is the tourist season. Hotel/motel reservations should be made immediately to assure space.

Bus parking.-Buses for the March will deposit their passengers at the Mall area for the assembly of the March. These buses will then proceed down East Capitol Street to a parking-holding area located at the D.C. Armory-Lot No. 3 (see enclosed map). The parking fee per bus is $5, payable upon arrival at the lot. All buses must park in this designated area and not elsewhere in the city.

After the Rally, the buses will return to the West Capitol grounds (Rally site) to pick up their passengers. (D.C. city map enclosed.)

Food.-Marchers may want to pack a non-perishable lunch and beverage as it may be difficult to have time to buy food without leaving your delegation. National ERA Headquarters address.-National ERA March Headquarters, 425 13th Street, N.W., Suite 548 Washington, D.C. 20004. Phone: (202) 737-2295. March is being coordinated by: The National Organization for Women. Mailing address for forms where checks are included.-NOW/National ERA March, P.O. Box 7813, Washington, D.C. 20044.

APPENDIX

PART 1.-ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE

CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENTS

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES,
Washington, D.C., August 8, 1978.

Hon. BIRCH BAYH,

Chairman, Subcommittee on the Constitution,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR BIRCH: Enclosed is a copy of my statement regarding S.J. Res. 134, the resolution to extend the period available to the States for ratification of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment.

I would appreciate you including the statement in your report.
With warm regards.

Sincerely,

JIM ABOUREZK,

U.S. Senate.

STATEMENT BEFORE THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ON S.J. RES. 134

As a member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, I want to thank Senator Bayh for holding these hearings.

S.J. Res. 134 and H.J. Res. 638, resolutions to extend the period available to the States for ratification of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, have raised complex constitutional questions. It is vital that these questions be answered so that we may implement the necessary procedures to allow more time for passage of the ERA.

The vitality and salience of the issue of full constitutional rights for women is greater now than ever before.

Thirty-five states representing over 70 percent of the total U.S. population have ratified the amendment. Hundreds of groups, as well as individual men and women from every sector of our society, have endorsed the resolution to extend the ratification period.

Equal rights are something American women should have had all along, something they did have at one time in this country, and something that was slowly taken away from them by men passing laws which specifically discriminated against women.

It took from 1848 to 1920 to win for women the constitutional right to vote. a total of 72 years! It is shocking that the 1970s could resurrect the repressive mentality that prevented women from having the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was adopted.

By adopting this legislation, we can facilitate the process of guaranteeing equal rights to women under the Constitution. By ignoring this opportunity, we give our consent to a system that continues to hold women down.

As a nation of progress, we have an obligation to show the world that we are the leader in promoting human growth through equal rights.

Once again, I want to thank Senator Bayh for the opportunity to elicit views from Members of Congress, the Department of Justice, legal scholars and vari ous interest groups so that we may make the decision as to which method is best to extend the ratification period for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment

STATEMENT OF HON. M. CALDWELL BUTLER, MEMBER OF CONGRESS, ON EXTENSION OF THE RATIFICATION PERIOD FOR THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT— AUGUST 2, 1978

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for inviting me to share with you some of the experiences we have had and the limited knowledge we have acquired over the past 9 months on this complex constitutional issue.