Congress can propose changes to the Constitution itself, the one power that outranks every court ruling and every statute. It is intentionally the hardest power to use: two-thirds of each chamber to propose, three-quarters of the states to ratify.
Read the clause itself, verbatim and in plain language, in the in-app Constitution.
Congress (two-thirds of both chambers), or a convention on application of two-thirds of the states
Amendments are proposed as joint resolutions requiring two-thirds of each chamber, then sent directly to the states, the President has no veto here. ratificationFinal approval that gives a measure legal force: states ratify constitutional amendments (3/4 required); the Senate consents to treaties (2/3).Full definition in the glossary takes 38 of 50 states, by legislature or convention as Congress chooses. The alternative path, a convention called on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures, has never been used.
National Archives, Constitutional Amendment Process
Terms to know: ratificationFinal approval that gives a measure legal force: states ratify constitutional amendments (3/4 required); the Senate consents to treaties (2/3).Full definition in the glossary · joint resolutionA measure (H.J.Res. or S.J.Res.) that travels the same path as a bill and has the same force of law. Also the only vehicle for proposing a constitutional amendment.Full definition in the glossary
