Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring Members of Congress to demonstrate competence in American civics.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This joint resolution proposes a civics-competence requirement for Representatives and Senators. Congress would establish an examination for each decennial apportionment period, and no person could serve as a Representative or Senator without demonstrating competence on the constitutional system of government under the exam in effect at election time. Congress would enforce the article by legislation that would not require presidential approval before taking effect.
Who Benefits and How
Voter advocacy organizations benefit because candidates and Members would have to demonstrate constitutional knowledge. Civic education advocacy organizations benefit from a high-profile constitutional incentive for learning the system of government. Congressional administration offices benefit from a defined role in creating and applying the examination system. Opponents of executive involvement benefit because enforcement legislation would not require presidential approval.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Candidate campaign committees must prepare candidates for the required civics examination before service. Members of Congress may become ineligible if they fail to demonstrate competence under the applicable exam. Congressional administration offices must design, update, administer, and enforce a decennial civics examination. State election agencies must incorporate the new qualification into ballot and eligibility administration.
Key Provisions
- Requires Congress to establish a civics competence examination for each decennial apportionment period.
- Bars service as Representative or Senator without demonstrated competence under the exam.
- Authorizes Congress to enforce the requirement without presidential approval of implementing legislation.
- Creates a new constitutional qualification for congressional service.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Proposes a constitutional amendment requiring Members of Congress to demonstrate competence in American civics through a decennial examination established by Congress.
Key Policy Areas
Congress, Civic Education, Constitutional Amendment
Primary Purpose
Proposes a constitutional amendment requiring Members of Congress to demonstrate competence in American civics through a decennial examination established by Congress.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Voter advocacy organizations
- Civic education advocacy organizations
- Congressional administration offices
- State election agencies
Identified Costs
- Candidate campaign committees
- Members of Congress
- Congressional administration offices
- State election agencies
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Hunt submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred …
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology