A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution changing the term of office of President and Vice President and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and amending the length of time a person may serve as President, Vice President, United States Senator, or United States Representative.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Constitutional Amendment - Establishes a single six year term of office for the President and Vice President. Allows a person succeeding to an unexpired term of less than three years to be elected to a full six-year term. Establishes a six year term of office for a Senator and limits the number of consecutive terms a person may serve to two six-year terms. Allows a person succeeding to an unexpired term of less than three years to be elected to two consecutive six-year terms. Requires, as close as practicable, one-third of the Senate to be elected every even-numbered year. Establishes a four-year term for Members of the House of Representatives and limits the number of consecutive terms a person may serve to three four-year terms. Allows a person succeeding to an unexpired term of less than two years to be elected to three consecutive four-year terms. Requires the entire membership of the House of Representatives to be elected in the same even-numbered year. Exempts any person holding the office of President, Vice President, Senator, or Representative at the time of the ratification of this amendment from the provisions of such amendment.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 1, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this joint resolution could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 1, 1979: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
What is a joint resolution, exactly?
A joint resolution travels the same road as a bill: both chambers pass it and the President signs it, and it then has the same force as any other law. The label is largely a matter of custom, often used for narrow or time-limited measures.
One exception matters. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution is not sent to the President at all. It goes to the states, and three quarters of them have to ratify it.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ARLEN ERDAHL (R-MN) introduced it on February 1, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 1, 1979, 17388 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17388 days ago, on February 1, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers