The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States, and the foundation for the legal authority underlying the actual existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States.

It provides the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government to the states, to its citizens, and to all people within the United States.

The Constitution creates and defines the operations of the three main branches of our government: A legislature (the U.S. Congress we need to reform); an executive branch led by the President; and a judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court.

The Constitution specifies the powers and duties of each branch, and reserves all unenumerated powers for the respective states and the people. It establishes the federal system of government for the United States of America and is the basis for all federal laws.

Our Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Congress in Philadelphia, PA and was ratified by conventions in each state of the time in the name of "The People of the United States".

Knowing that our Constitution would not remain ageless, our founders wisely made provisions for amendments, or constitutional updates, to allow for changes and the addition of new laws as future times and circumstances required.

The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times since then.

The first ten of these amendments were passed in 1791, and are known as the Bill of Rights. They specifically define certain rights and liberties that apply to all citizens; rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms.

The Twenty-second Amendment, passed in 1951, defines the number of terms that our Presidents may serve.

The next amendment to be passed, the Twenty-eighth Amendment, will define the number of times anyone may be elected to Congress.

---

AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." -- Patrick Henry

In 1995, the United States Supreme Court, in the case of U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995) by a five to four majority; overturned legislation passed by twenty-three states that limited terms of service for their delegations to the United States Congress.

The high court ruled that such legislation is unconstitutional and stated that the only legal way to enforce term limits on anyone elected to the United States Congress is by constitutional amendment, since the Constitution does not expressly limit the terms of those elected to congressional office.

For example; the Twenty-second Amendment passed by Congress and ratified by the states in 1951, limits our Presidents to two four-year terms in the White House to prevent any future "Imperial Presidencies" like the four term presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt that provoked its passage.

Accordingly, ACT NOW!, a popular grass roots movement of concerned American patriots seeking to reform Congress, is actively campaigning to have such an amendment passed by Congress and ratified by the states to define congressional term limits and enforce them through constitutional law.

We believe that urgent congressional reform is absolutely necessary to restrain rampant federalism, curb the culture of corruption and political gamesmanship that flourishes in the U.S. Congress, restore real representative democracy to the People, and remove career politicians from our legislature forever.

Following is a discussion on constitutional amendment procedures for the benefit of our supporters and to encourage further debate by all concerned Americans on the necessity of passing our proposed amendment:

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
ARTICLE V

"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress."

PLAIN ENGLISH TRANSLATION

"If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates."
  -- George Washington

In other words, there are essentially two methods spelled out in the Constitution for proposing, passing and ratifying an amendment. One of these methods has never been used. All ratified amendments are incorporated into the Constitutional as federal law.

The first method is for a bill be introduced in one house of Congress, then it has to pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds majority vote in each house (292 House votes and 67 Senate votes). Once the bill is passed by Congress, it is sent to the states legislatures for ratification. This is the method used to pass all previous amendments.

The second method is for two thirds of the states legislatures to call on the U.S. Congress to convene a constitutional convention to propose and pass amendment legislation. This method has never been used in all of American history.

Regardless of which of the two routes is used to pass an amendment, it must then be ratified, or approved, by three-fourths (38) of the states.

There are two ways to do this also. The text of the amendment may specify whether the amendment must be passed by the states legislatures, or by special states conventions convened for this purpose.

So, there are four possible methods to pass and ratify an amendment:

1. Proposal by convention of states and ratification by state conventions

2. Proposal by convention of states and ratification by state legislatures

3. Proposal by Congress and ratification by state conventions

4. Proposal by Congress and ratification by state legislatures

THE GREAT AMERICAN MOVEMENT
FOR CONGRESSIONAL REFORM

"Asking an incumbent member of Congress to vote for (congressional) term limits is a bit like asking a chicken to vote for Colonel Sanders."
  -- Congressman Bob Inglis

Since we believe it highly unlikely that we can influence the U.S. Congress to propose and pass an amendment that will limit their own powers and political career ambitions (much like asking a junkie to voluntarily quit shooting heroin), we presume that a Constitutional Convention called for by two thirds of the states legislatures will most likely be required.

Building consensus among state legislatures to call on Congress for a Constitutional Convention should prove to to be our best option. Although the members of state legislatures are (what else) in fact legislators themselves, they would not be voting for term limits on themselves in this case, but rather for the legislators of the U.S. Congress; a somewhat easier pill to swallow.

Fifteen state legislatures have wisely enacted term limits for themselves and thirty-six states already limit the terms their governors may serve. Similar legislation is currently under consideration by the people and legislatures of several other states, so there is ample evidence that term limits for Congress will be supported at the state level.

Taking this route will require us to establish powerful grass roots movements in all fifty states, led by each state's chapter of ACT NOW!, to compel their legislatures to call on Congress to convene a Constitutional Convention to pass our proposed amendment. This isn't a simple endeavor by any means, but is certainly achievable within a few years.

The upside to taking this route to amendment is that it will have tremendous historical significance, since it has never been used before. When we are successful, the story of our movement to amend the Constitution and reform the U.S. Congress will be taught in our schools and studied by constitutional scholars for generations to come!

However, we're not as interested in the lasting historical fame as we are in getting our amendment passed as soon as possible and going back to leading our private lives.

WE MUST PRIORITIZE CONGRESSIONAL REFORM

"The Constitution of this country was only written 200 years ago.  The house I was living in in Madrid is 350 years old!  America is still a project, and you guys are working on it and bringing new things to it every day.  That is a beautiful thing to watch." -- Antonio Banderas