constitutional amendment news stories on Newser

Cuomo to Seek NYC Casinos

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:03:47 CST

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 . “I’m not...

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

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:08:54 CST

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," wrote...

House Rejects Balanced Budget Amendment

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:16:32 CST

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

Matt Cantor — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:56:03 CDT

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

Kevin Spak — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:58:21 CDT

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 trillion in...

GOP Wants to Make Unbalanced Budget Illegal

Matt Cantor — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 06:57:05 CDT

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 through, and...

Dems to Offer GOP Another $20B in Spending Cuts

Matt Cantor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:52:05 CDT

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 Democratic...

Tea Party Pushes 'Repeal Any Law' Amendment

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:55:01 CST

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

Matt Cantor — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:40:05 CST

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,...