{
  "id": "R42589",
  "type": "CRS Report",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": 451265,
      "date": "2016-03-29",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T16:51:49.637048",
      "title": "The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two ways to amend the nation\u2019s fundamental charter. Congress, by a two-thirds vote of both houses, may propose amendments to the states for ratification, a procedure that has been used for all 27 current amendments. Alternatively, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states, 34 at present, Article V directs that Congress \u201cshall call a Convention for proposing Amendments....\u201d This alternative, known as an \u201cArticle V Convention,\u201d has yet to be implemented. This report examines the Article V Convention alternative, focusing on related contemporary issues for Congress. A companion report, CRS Report R44435, The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Current Developments, identifies and provides analysis of recent activity in Congress, the states, and the Article V Convention advocacy community. Another report, CRS Report R42592, The Article V Convention for Proposing Constitutional Amendments: Historical Perspectives for Congress, examines the procedure\u2019s origins and history and provides an analysis of the role of the states in calling a convention.\nFrom the 1960s through the early 1980s, supporters of Article V conventions mounted vigorous unsuccessful campaigns to call conventions to consider then-contentious issues of national policy, including a ban on school busing to achieve racial balance, restrictions on abortions, apportionment of state legislatures, and, most prominently, a requirement that the federal budget be balanced, except in wartime or other extraordinary circumstances. Although they came close to the constitutional requirement, none of these campaigns attained applications from 34 states.\nWith the failure of these efforts, interest in the Article V Convention alternative declined for more than 20 years, but over the past decade, there has been a gradual resurgence of attention to and support for a convention. Advocacy groups across a broad range of the political spectrum have embraced the convention mechanism as an alternative to perceived policy deadlock at the federal level. Using the Internet and social media to build campaigns and coalitions that once took much longer to assemble, they are pushing for a convention or conventions to consider various amendments, including the well-known balanced budget requirement, restrictions on the authority of the federal government, repeal of the corporate political contributions elements of the Supreme Court\u2019s Citizens United decision, and others.\nThis report identifies a range of policy questions Congress might face if an Article V Convention seemed imminent. Some of these include the following: what constitutes a legitimate state application? Does Congress have discretion as to whether it must call a convention? What legislative vehicle would be appropriate to call a convention? Could a convention consider any issue, or would it be limited to the specific issue cited in state applications? Could a \u201crunaway\u201d convention propose amendments outside its mandate? Could Congress choose not to propose a convention-approved amendment to the states? What role, if any, does the President have? What role would Congress have in the mechanics of a convention, including rules of procedure and voting, number and apportionment of delegates, funding and duration, service by Members of Congress, and other related questions? Congress could consult a range of information resources under these circumstances, including the record of the founders\u2019 intentions and actions in establishing the Article V Convention alternative, scholarly works cited in this report, historical examples and precedents, and the body of relevant hearings, reports, and bills produced by Congress, particularly when it examined this question between the 1970s and the 1990s.",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": "R42589_2014Mar07",
      "date": "2014-05-07",
      "retrieved": "2014-05-06T21:21:54",
      "title": "The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "This report looks at how Article V of the Constitution allows Congress to propose amendments -- specifically the process of organizing an Article V Convention, a method that has never been used and which is only briefly outlined in the Constitution.",
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          "id": "Constitution",
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          "id": "Constitutional amendments",
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      "id": "R42589_2014Apr11",
      "date": "2014-04-11",
      "retrieved": "2014-08-27T12:47:05",
      "title": "The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "This report looks at how Article V of the Constitution allows Congress to propose amendments -- specifically the process of organizing an Article V Convention, a method that has never been used and which is only briefly outlined in the Constitution.",
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          "id": "Constitution",
          "name": "Constitution"
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          "id": "Constitutional amendments",
          "name": "Constitutional amendments"
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc96728/",
      "id": "R42589_2012Jul09",
      "date": "2012-07-09",
      "retrieved": "2012-08-07T13:52:45",
      "title": "The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "This report looks at how Article V of the Constitution allows Congress to propose amendments, specifically the process of organizing an Article V Convention, a method which has never been used and which is only breifly outlined in the Constitution.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
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      "topics": [
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          "id": "Constitutional amendments",
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  "topics": [
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    "Constitutional Questions"
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}