Proposed amendments to the United States constitution
Many (sometimes scores) of amendments are proposed in Congress every year. Most of these proposals never get out of committee, much less get passed by the Congress as required.
Below is a running list of proposed amendments.
- In 2004 Utah senator Orrin Hatch has proposed an amendment to ensure the continuity of operations of the United States Congress in the case of emergencies in which a large number of Senators or Represenatives are incapacitated. Such an amendment would allow Congress itself to make emergency appointments to fill vacancies, rather than going through the usual by-election process.
- Senator Hatch has also promoted an amendment to allow naturalized citizens with at least twenty years' citizenship to become President. Many people believe he wants this amendment so that Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has endorsed this amendment, can make a run for the presidency in the near future.
- The Federal Marriage Amendment which outlaws gay marriage. Proposed in the spring of 2004 by multiple sources (including President George W Bush). A cloture motion to force a direct vote on this amendment was defeated in the Senate on July 14, 2004 by a wider-than-expected margin of 50 nay votes to 48 yea votes; this has stopped progress of the amendment for the foreseeable future.
- A Flag Burning Amendment which gives Congress the power to make flag-burning illegal. It has been repeatedly approved by the House, but is consistently rejected in the Senate, the last time being 2001.
See also
