Constitutional Amendments Committee
The Constitution Project's Constitutional Amendments Committee is a bipartisan project that urges restraint in the constitutional amendment process. It was formerly known as Citizens for the Constitution.
In recent years, constitutional amendments have become the favored first-step remedy for all social ills. These proposals frequently deal with matters of social policy that traditionally and more appropriately are the subject of legislation.
Amendments often are introduced because they are seen as powerful political organizing tools and are made before ordinary statutory changes have been sought. Some amendments reach the full House or Senate for a vote without a single hearing being held. Mark-ups and debates are limited or non-existent. Some proposals have been given expedited floor consideration and several passed at least one house in the 104th Congress.
The Constitution Project created this initiative to oppose the facile rewriting of the U.S. Constitution. Through an organized education effort, we seek to focus attention on unthinking tinkering with fundamental rights and liberties.
