Isabella Carter
The most recent constitutional amendment to be ratified was the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which was ratified on May 7, 1992. The amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress may take effect only after the next election of the House of Representatives has occurred. This amendment was one of the first proposed, having been submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, along with 11 other proposed amendments.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII) |
| Date Proposed | September 25, 1789 |
| Date Ratified | May 7, 1992 |
| Number of Amendments Proposed | 12 |
| Number of Amendments Ratified | 10 |
| Name of the First 10 Amendments | Bill of Rights |
| Date of Ratification of the First 10 Amendments | December 15, 1791 |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
The Twenty-seventh Amendment
The amendment was initially passed by Congress with a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in 1789. However, it was only ratified by six or seven states initially and did not have enough support to become part of the Constitution. The Ohio General Assembly ratified it in 1873, and the Wyoming Legislature followed suit in 1978. Finally, on May 5, 1992, the Archivist of the United States certified that the amendment had been ratified by the required three-quarters of states (38 states at the time), and it officially became part of the Constitution.
The 23rd Amendment: A Historic Addition in 1961
You may want to see also
Reducing corruption in Congress
The most recent constitutional amendment, the Twenty-seventh Amendment, was ratified on May 5, 1992. It was one of the first amendments proposed back in 1789, but it was largely forgotten until 1982 when a student named Gregory Watson wrote a paper arguing that the amendment was still "live".
The Twenty-seventh Amendment, or the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, was designed to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by requiring an election before a congressperson's salary increase takes effect. This amendment gives the public the power to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase, thus reducing the potential for corruption.
To further reduce corruption in Congress, there have been calls for the establishment of an independent ethics committee in the Senate. The Senate Ethics Committee has been criticised for its low rate of finding members guilty of violations, with only 3% of investigated complaints resulting in such a finding over the past decade. In contrast, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent ethics committee in the House of Representatives, has found violations in 41% of cases. An independent ethics committee in the Senate, focused on the Senate but composed of nonmembers, would increase accountability and ensure senators prioritise the interests of the public over those of donors and special interests.
Additionally, Representative Jared Golden has introduced six bills designed to reduce corruption and increase transparency in Congress. These include the Stop Foreign Payoffs Act, which would ban members of Congress and other officials from earning a salary or holding investments in foreign businesses while in office; the Crack Down on Dark Money Act, which aims to reduce the influence of mega-donors by lowering the cap on political activity by nonprofits and requiring donor disclosure for contributions over $5,000; and the Consistent Labelling for Political Ads Act, which would increase transparency in online political advertising by making ad labels "sticky" on social media platforms. Golden's other bills aim to reduce the influence of foreign actors and increase transparency in political spending.
Furthermore, Golden's Government Integrity & Anti-Corruption Plan includes the TRUST in Congress Act, which would prohibit members of Congress and their families from owning or trading stocks while in office, except through a qualified blind trust. This plan also includes a Term Limits Amendment to the Constitution, which would limit members of the House to three terms and senators to two terms, helping to prevent the leveraging of political positions for personal profit.
Amendment History: 17th Amendment's Addition to the Constitution
You may want to see also
The Congressional Compensation Act of 1789
The most recent constitutional amendment ratified in the United States is the Twenty-seventh Amendment, commonly known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789.
History
Proposal and Ratification
The 1st Congress submitted the amendment to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789, along with 11 other proposed amendments (Articles I-XII). However, it did not receive enough support and was largely forgotten for almost 80 years, with only six states voting for ratification: Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.
Reemergence and Impact
In 1873, the Ohio General Assembly ratified the amendment in protest of an unpopular Congressional pay raise. A century later, in 1978, the Wyoming Legislature followed suit. The amendment gained new life in 1982 when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper arguing for its ratification as a way to curtail political corruption. Watson launched a nationwide campaign, and the amendment eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992.
Content and Purpose
The Twenty-seventh Amendment states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress can only take effect after the next election of the House of Representatives. This provision aims to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by allowing the public to remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase.
The Evolution of India's Constitution: Last Amendments
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Bill of Rights
The most recent constitutional amendment to be ratified was the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which came into effect on May 5, 1992.
The amendments of the Bill of Rights add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, assemble, and other natural and legal rights. It also includes explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.
The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those in earlier documents, especially the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Northwest Ordinance, the English Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta. James Madison wrote the amendments as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties through the Constitution. For example, the Founders saw the ability to speak and worship freely as a natural right protected by the First Amendment.
The Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes through the requirement of a warrant. The Ninth Amendment states that just because a right has not been listed in the Bill of Rights does not mean that it does not exist.
The First Amendment: A Historical Perspective
You may want to see also
The process of amending the Constitution
The most recent amendment to the US Constitution is the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which was ratified in 1992. This amendment, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789, states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress can only take effect after the next election of the House of Representatives.
The process of amending the US Constitution is outlined in Article Five of the Constitution. This process was designed to balance the need for change with the need for stability. Amendments must be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative.
Proposal
An amendment can be proposed in two ways:
- By a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives of Congress.
- By a national convention, called by Congress, on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures (34 states, since 1959). However, this option has never been used.
Ratification
Once proposed, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 states, since 1959) to become part of the Constitution. This can be done through:
- The legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
- State ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. This method has only been used once, for the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended the prohibition of alcohol.
The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process and issuing a certificate when an amendment has been properly ratified.
A Difficult Process
Amending the Constitution is a challenging process, and it has only been successfully amended 27 times. The process requires a "`supermajority`" or "two-thirds" majority, which means that the number of votes for an amendment must be at least twice the number of votes against it. This high standard is in place to prevent constant change to the Constitution while still allowing for necessary amendments.
Since 1789, approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress, with members typically proposing around 200 amendments during each two-year term. However, most of these proposals die in congressional committees, and only about 20 have received a full vote in the House or Senate in recent years.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously in 1791. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments.
Amending the Constitution: Understanding the Process
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The most recent constitutional amendment, the Twenty-seventh Amendment, was ratified on May 7, 1992.
The amendment states that any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress may take effect only after the next election of the House of Representatives has occurred.
The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.
