Propose constitutional amendments
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
How it works in practice
Amendments are proposed as joint resolutions requiring supermajorityAny threshold above half: three-fifths for Senate cloture, two-thirds to override a veto or convict on impeachment, three-fourths of states to ratify an amendment.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of each chamberOne of the two houses of a legislature. Congress has two: the House of Representatives and the Senate. A bill must pass both, in identical text.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), 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).Read the full definition (opens a new tab) takes 38 of 50 states, by legislatureThe body that makes law. At the federal level it is Congress; every state has its own, and every city and county has a council or board that does the same job locally.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) 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).Read the full definition (opens a new tab) · 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.Read the full definition (opens a new tab)