Some Proposed Amendments

The Constitution is a living and evolving document. One of the ways that the Constitution is changed is through the amendment process. It can be an arduous process, requiring agreement by many different segments of society and the government, and it does not always work out. But it is the only way to make a permanent change to the Constitution. Changes in interpretation are common as time progresses, but only by having actual text added can a change be called a part of the Constitution.

In every session of Congress, hundreds of constitutional amendments are proposed. Almost never do any of them become actual Amendments. In fact, almost never do any of them even get out of committee.

According to a study by C-SPAN, this is a count of the number of amendments proposed in each of the sessions of Congress in the 1990's:

106th (1999 only): 60
105th (1997-98): 103
104th (1995-96): 158
103rd (1993-94): 156
102nd (1991-92): 165
101st (1989-90): 214

It is interesting to see the types of things our legislators want to do the Constitution. Proposed amendments are a reflection of the mood of the nation, or of a subset of the population.

These lists are simple bullets, not detailed examinations of the proposed amendments, the bills that carried them, or the process they went through. If a further examination is desired, a search of the Thomas database can be done.

Please note that some proposed amendments are proposed over and over again in different sessions of Congress. For the sake of brevity, I have used the 102nd Congress as a "baseline" and each subsequent Congress has only new ideas for amendments listed. Also note that just because a proposed amendment is not listed in prior sessions does not mean it was not proposed in prior sessions.

109th Congress (2005-2006)

To specifically permit prayer at school meetings and ceremonies
To allow non-natural born citizens to become President if they have been a citizen for 20 years
To specifically allow Congress to regulate the amount of personal funds a candidate to public office can expend in a campaign
To ensure that apportionment of Representatives be set by counting only citizens
To make the filibuster in the Senate a part of the Constitution
To provide for continuity of government in case of a catastrophic event
The "Every Vote Counts" Amendment - providing for direct election of the President and Vice President, abolishing the Electoral College
To clarify eminent domain, specifically that no takings can be transferred to a private person except for transportation projects
Providing a right to work, for equal pay for equal work, the right to organize, and the right to favorable work conditions
To allow the President to reduce any Congressional appropriation, or to disapprove of same (akin to a line-item veto)

108th Congress (2003-2004)

To lower the age restriction on Representatives and Senators from 30 and 25 respectively to 21
To ensure that citizens of U.S. territories and commonwealths can vote in presidential elections
To guarantee the right to use the word "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto
To restrict marriage in all states to be between a man and a woman
To remove any protection any court may find for child pornography
To allow Congress to pass laws for emergency replenishment of its membership should more than a quarter of either house be killed
To place Presidential nominees immediately into position, providing the Senate with 120 days to reject the nominee before the appointment is automatically permanent

107th Congress (2001-2002)

Calling for the repeal of the 8th Amendment and its replacement with wording prohibiting incarceration for minor traffic offenses
To specify that progressive income taxes must be used
To specify a right to "equal high quality" health care
To limit pardons granted between October 1 and January 21 of any presidential election year
To require a balanced budget without use of Social Security Trust Fund monies
To allow for any person who has been a citizen of the United States for twenty years or more to be eligible for the Presidency
To force the members of Congress and the President to forfeit their salary, on a per diem basis, for every day past the end of the fiscal year that a budget for that year remains unpassed

106th Congress (1999-2000)

To provide a new method for proposing amendments to the Constitution, where two-thirds of all state legislatures could start the process
To allow Congress to enact campaign spending limits on federal elections
To allow Congress to enact campaign spending limits on state elections
To declare that life begins at conception and that the 5th and 14th amendments apply to unborn children
To prohibit courts from instructing any state or lower government to levy or raise taxes

105th Congress (1997-1998)

To force a national referendum for any deficit spending
To provide for the reconfirmation of federal judges every 12 years
To prohibit the early release of convicted criminals
To establish the right to a home
To define the legal effect of international treaties
To clarify that the Constitution neither prohibits nor requires school prayer
To establish judicial terms of office

104th Congress (1995-1996)

To clarify the meaning of the 2nd Amendment
To provide for the reconfirmation of federal judges every 6 years
To force a two-thirds vote for any bill that raises taxes
To repeal the 16th Amendment and specifically prohibit an income tax
To provide for removal of any officer of the U.S. convicted of a felony
To permit the States to set term limits for their Representatives and Senators

103rd Congress (1993-1994)

To allow a Presidential pardon of an individual only after said individual has been tried and convicted of a crime
To allow Congress to pass legislation to allow the Supreme Court to remove federal judges from office
To provide for the reconfirmation of federal judges every 10 years
To provide for the recall of Representatives and Senators
To remove automatic citizenship of children born in the U.S. to non-resident parents
To enable or repeal laws by popular vote
To define a process to allow amendments to the Constitution be proposed by a popular ("grass-roots") effort
To force a three-fifths vote for any bill that raises taxes
To prohibit retroactive taxation
To provide for run-off Presidential elections if no one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote
To prohibit abortion
To bar imposition on the States of unfunded federal mandates

102nd Congress (1991-1992)

To disallow the desecration of the U.S. Flag
To allow a line-item veto in appropriations bills
To expand the term of Representatives to four years
To force a balanced budget
To prohibit involuntary bussing of students
To make English the official language of the United States
To set term limits on Representatives and Senators
To repeal the 22nd Amendment (removing Presidential term limits)
To guarantee a right to employment opportunity for all citizens
To grant protections to unborn children
To provide for "moments of silence" in public schools
To allow Congress to regulate expenditures for and contributions to political campaigns
To provide for the rights of crime victims
To provide for access to medical care for all citizens
To repeal the 2nd Amendment (right to bear arms)
To prohibit the death penalty
To protect the environment
To repeal the 26th Amendment (granting the vote to 18-year olds) and granting the right to vote to 16-year olds
To provide equal rights to men and women

As an example of the tenacity of some ideas, the desire to repeal the 22nd Amendment is a very popular one. Using the Thomas database, we searched all the way back to the 99th Congress, which started in 1985, for proposals to repeal the 22nd. In 2005, there was a great deal of discussion, and derision, of a new proposal to repeal the 22nd. But the derision, certainly, was unwarranted. Every Congress since the 99th has had at least one proposal with the sole intent of repealing the 22nd. Other proposed amendments to otherwise affect the 22nd, such as replacing the two-term limit with a single six-year term, extend back to at least 1979's 96th Congress, but were not included in this list.

109th Congress - HJ Res 24 (2005)
108th Congress - HJ Res 25 (2003)
107th Congress - HJ Res 39 (2001)
106th Congress - HJ Res 24 (1999)
105th Congress - HJ Res 39 (1997)
104th Congress - HJ Res 71 (1995)
103rd Congress - HJ Res 107 (1993)
102nd Congress - HJ Res 61 (1991)
101st Congress - HJ Res 84 (1989)
100th Congress - HJ Res 156 (1987)
99th Congress - HJ Res 687 (1986)

The Failed Amendments

Throughout the history of the Constitution, 27 changes have been made through the Amendment process. Amendments are not easy to pass, and several amendments have been proposed over time, but which failed to pass the second hurdle - acceptance by the states. This page lists the amendments to the Constitution which have not yet passed. Some, because of the language of the bill that passed the Congress, have no expiration date and are still pending ratification. Others have built-in expiration dates. The text details which of the amendments are expired.

The following pages may also be of interest: The Amendment Process, Proposed Amendments.

The Failed Amendments

See also: Emory University's Page.

Article 1 of the original Bill of Rights
This amendment, proposed in 1789, dealt with the number of persons represented by each member of the House, and the number of members of the House. It essentially said that once the House hit 100 members, it should not go below 100, and once it reached 200, it should not go below 200. Since there are over 400 members today, this amendment would be de facto moot today. It is, however, still outstanding. Congressional research shows that the amendment was ratified by ten states, the last being in 1791.

The text:

After the first enumeration required by the first article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons.

The Anti-Title Amendment
This amendment, submitted to the States in the 11th Congress (in 1810), said that any citizen who accepted or received any title of nobility from a foreign power, or who accepted without the consent of Congress any gift from a foreign power, by would no longer be a citizen There is some debate about whether this amendment was actually ratified or not, mostly by those who put forth the fanciful notion that if it had been, most (if not all) legislators who are lawyers, and who use the title "Esquire" would no longer be citizens, and hence, no longer be able to serve in Congress. This amendment is still outstanding. (Information refuting claims of ratification can be found here. A refutation of this refutation can be found here.) Congressional research shows that the amendment was ratified by twelve states, the last being in 1812.

The text:

If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.

The Slavery Amendment
In 1861, an amendment prohibiting the Congress from making any law interfering with the domestic institutions of any State (slavery being specifically mentioned) was proposed and sent to the states. This amendment is still outstanding. Congressional research shows that the amendment was ratified by two states, the last being in 1862. This amendment is also known as the Corwin Amendment, as it was propsed by Ohio Representative Thomas Corwin.

The text:

No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.

The Child Labor Amendment
In 1926, an amendment was proposed which granted Congress the power to regulate the labor of children under the age of 18. This amendment is still outstanding, having been ratified by 28 states. Ratification by 38 states is required to add an amendment. Congressional research shows that the amendment was ratified by 28 states, the last being in 1937.

The text:

Section 1. The Congress shall have power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons under eighteen years of age.

Section 2. The power of the several States is unimpaired by this article except that the operation of State laws shall be suspended to the extent necessary to give effect to legislation enacted by the Congress.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
The ERA's first section states "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." It was intended to place into law the equality of men and women. It was sent to the states in March, 1972. The original seven year deadline was extended to ten years. It expired unratified in 1982.

The text:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

The Washington DC Voting Rights Amendment
Granted the citizens of Washington DC the same full representation in Congress as any state, and repealed the 23rd Amendment granting the District votes in the Electoral College (since it would have been moot). Proposed in 1978, it expired unratified in 1985.

The text:

Section 1. For purposes of representation in the Congress, election of the President and Vice President, and article V of this Constitution, the District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall be treated as though it were a State.

Section 2. The exercise of the rights and powers conferred under this article shall be by the people of the District constituting the seat of government, and as shall be provided by the Congress.

Section 3. The twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 4. This article shall be inoperative, unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.