The Twenty-Seventh Amendment and Constitutional Change by Stealth

Abstract

The 27th Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that any adjustment in compensation to legislators could take effect only after a new election was held, was ratified in 1992, some 203 years after it was first proposed. The amendment passed as a reaction of voters to a 1989 proposal by legislators for a increase in their salaries by 51%, from $89,500 to $135,000 per annum. A question as to the constitutionality of an amendment that took more than two centuries to pass is being raised. ARTICLE The process of how to amend the U.S. Constitution is the least discussed and least examined aspect of the Constitution. The vagaries surrounding the amendment process were highlighted in 1992 as the Twenty-Seventh Amendment gained momentum and eventual ratification. Compensation of Members of Congress: The Twenty-Seventh Amendment As one of the original proposals accompanying the Bill of Rights, and first proposed in 1789, the congressional pay raise amendment was included in order to limit the ability of Congress to change the compensation of its members. It was proposed by James Madison and later passed by both houses of Congress. The amendment stated: "No law, varying the compensation for the services of senators and representatives, shall take effect until an election of representatives shall have intervened." Three state conventions, concerned that members of Congress might arbitrarily grant themselves salary raises, proposed that no salary improvements should occur before the next election of representatives (Livingston 1956).