constitutional amendment

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Suggested 28th Amendment Focuses on a Terror Attack

Lawmakers say it must be easier to quickly fill 100 or more House vacancies

(Newser) - The Constitution has been amended 27 times, and a proposed 28th one has a sobering theme: A bipartisan group in Congress wants the nation to be better prepared for a mass casualty event in DC. The four have proposed what they call a "continuity amendment" that would allow members...

Abortion Rights Victory in Florida Could Have 'Massive Implications'

Amendment to enshrine abortion access has enough signatures for 2024 ballot, pending other ruling

(Newser) - Voters in Ohio , Kansas , and other states have opted to enshrine abortion rights in their respective constitutions, and Florida may be next. The Tampa Bay Times reports that proponents have secured more than enough signatures to place on the 2024 ballot a constitutional amendment that would unravel the state's...

Virginia Capitol Erupts in Cheers as ERA Wins Approval

State is the 38th to ratify, but there are complications

(Newser) - Vivian Watts has a photo taken 44 years ago of her demonstrating with her daughter for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. She's wearing a sash in the photo, and on Wednesday, the Virginia legislator wore that sash to work. "Forty-four years is a long time to wait,...

Conservatives Are Seeking Constitutional Amendments

Among their goals: repealing the 17th Amendment

(Newser) - Whatever success Republicans have amassed in taking control of all three branches of US government, and whatever fate awaits them as midterm elections near, some on the right are working to cement change by amending the Constitution, the AP reports. And to the mounting alarm of others on all parts...

Michael Moore Has Penned a 28th Amendment

He wants to dump 'outdated' Second Amendment

(Newser) - In a move highly unlikely to be approved by the NRA, Michael Moore has come up with a replacement for what he says is the "ancient and outdated" Second Amendment. In a Facebook post Wednesday, Moore offered a 28th Amendment that protects the right of people to "be...

How a Student's Bad Grade Changed the Constitution

Gregory Watson's C might now become an A+

(Newser) - When Gregory Watson first described his theory on how the 27th Amendment to the US Constitution—proposed in 1789 but still unratified in 1982—might finally be passed in a 1982 course paper, both his teaching assistant and professor at the University of Texas were unimpressed. "I didn't...

Clinton Wants Amendment to Dump Citizens United

She's working hard to shore up Bernie Sanders' following

(Newser) - In a bow to Bernie Sanders' campaign, Hillary Clinton picked up one of the causes he championed on Saturday, reports the Hill —that of overturning the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that opened the floodgates on corporate political donations. "Today I’m announcing that in my first 30 days...

Missouri to Vote on New 'Right to Farm'

Farmers seek protection from various laws

(Newser) - Constitutional amendments typically enshrine rights like free speech and freedom of religion. Now Missouri is weighing a new one: "the right to farm," the New York Times reports. The state will vote Tuesday on Amendment 1, which says that the right "to engage in agricultural production and...

Senate Dems: We Need an Amendment on Campaign Cash

Schumer says Supreme Court rulings have gone too far

(Newser) - Senate Democrats think the Supreme Court has made a mess of campaign finance rules, and they plan to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment this year to remedy the problem, reports Roll Call . Chuck Schumer announced the future vote today, arguing that decisions such as Citizens United , which unleashed huge...

GOP Backs Strict Abortion Stance: No Exceptions

Democrats calling it the 'Akin plank'

(Newser) - The Republican Party platform is set to support a Constitutional amendment banning abortion, with no exceptions for rape or incest cases. Republican leaders ratified the party stance at a meeting today ahead of next week's convention, where the measure is all but guaranteed for final approval, CNN reports. "...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to Seek Legalized Casinos
 Cuomo to Seek NYC Casinos 

Cuomo to Seek NYC Casinos

Budget boost outweighs social ills: state governor

(Newser) - Fresh off his first year as New York governor, Andrew Cuomo promises to make "eye-catching" moves next year—including casinos in New York City. He'll start by asking the legislature next week to pass a constitutional amendment to legalize casino gambling, he tells the New York Daily News...

GOP Candidates: We Love the Constitution, Let's Change It

Republicans revere the document, but seek to change it

(Newser) - Republican presidential candidates have a complex relationship with the US Constitution, admiring it one day and bashing it the next, Politico reports. Several, for example, promise to appoint hard-line constructionist judges who will remain faithful to the Founders' vision. "The court should be particularly protective of our founding structure,...

House Rejects Balanced Budget Amendment

Measure falls short of two-thirds majority thanks to Democratic opposition

(Newser) - The House has rejected a proposal to amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget, seen by many as the only way to force lawmakers to hold the fiscal line and reverse the flow of federal red ink. The 261-165 vote was 23 short of the two-thirds majority needed to...

GOP's New Crusade: Balanced Budget Amendment

Some Democrats amenable to the plan, say insiders

(Newser) - Emboldened after the debt limit fight, Republicans are shifting energies to their quest for a balanced budget amendment—but such a measure faces major hurdles, the New York Times reports. John Boehner has called on congressional Republicans to spend their August recess convincing the public of the importance of such...

No Debt Compromise In Sight
 No Debt Compromise in Sight 

No Debt Compromise in Sight

One top Democrat says things getting 'very, very scary'

(Newser) - Exasperation is high on Capitol Hill, as the House and Senate barrel ahead with unrelated debt ceiling plans, neither of which resemble the “grand bargain” President Obama wanted. Today, John Boehner will hold a vote on his so-called “Cut, Cap, and Balance” bill, which calls for $5.8...

GOP Wants to Make Unbalanced Budget Illegal

Mandate has full support from Republican senators, none from Dems

(Newser) - The GOP is hoping to tack a 28th amendment on to the Constitution: one that would mandate a balanced budget. All 47 GOP senators are behind the proposal, which was announced yesterday, but "the whole thing is a long shot," an analyst tells Reuters . Earlier attempts have fallen...

Dems to Offer GOP Another $20B in Spending Cuts

...bringing total to $30B, which may not satisfy Republicans

(Newser) - With the threat of a government shutdown less than two weeks away, all eyes are on the budget. The White House and congressional Democrats are working on a proposal to cut another $20 billion in spending, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . It’s the biggest cut the administration and...

Tea Party Pushes 'Repeal Any Law' Amendment

Backers want state rights to jettison federal laws

(Newser) - It could be the law to end all laws. The Tea Party is pushing a constitutional amendment that would allow any act of Congress to be overturned by a vote of two-thirds of state legislatures. It already has backing of legislative leaders in 12 states and incoming House Majority Leader...

Let Americans Keep Electing Their Senators
Let Americans Keep Electing Their Senators
OPINION

Let Americans Keep Electing Their Senators

Essay: Campaign to repeal 17th Amendment is misguided

(Newser) - The 17th Amendment allows Americans to choose their senators directly, rather than have them picked by state legislatures—and some Tea Partiers and a particular jurist named Antonin Scalia want it gone. (He says states' rights have been on the decline since it became law in 1913.) Bad idea,...

Lawmakers Sour on Governors Filling Senate Vacancies

Post-Blago, some push special elections

(Newser) - Soured by the taint of the Rod Blagojevich scandal on a US Senate seat, members of congressional judiciary subcommittees considered a Constitutional amendment that would fill interim vacancies in the body by election, rather than by gubernatorial appointment, the Washington Post reports. The selection by governors is “not only...

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