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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, May 5, 2017, marks the 25th anniversary of the |
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unconventional ratification of the 27th Amendment to the United |
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States Constitution; and |
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WHEREAS, One of the original 12 amendments submitted, |
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pursuant to Article V, to the state legislatures for ratification |
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by the First U.S. Congress, in 1789, the 27th Amendment was crafted |
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by James Madison of Virginia while he served as a member of the U.S. |
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House of Representatives; by the end of 1791, 10 of the 12 |
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amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, had been |
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approved by the requisite three-fourths of the states; the other |
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two amendments, one of which pertained to congressional |
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compensation, fell by the wayside; and |
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WHEREAS, The congressional compensation measure stipulated |
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that "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the |
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Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election |
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of Representatives shall have intervened"; the amendment would thus |
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prevent federal lawmakers from immediately benefiting from any pay |
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raise they might give themselves, as every representative--and a |
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third of the senators--would have to win reelection before they |
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could realize a gain; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1982, a student at The University of Texas at |
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Austin, Gregory Watson, learned about this unratified |
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still-pending amendment and concluded that it was eminently |
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relevant, Congress having granted itself a substantial pay raise in |
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1978 and a special tax break in 1981; he determined that the |
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amendment remained viable, and he committed himself to the |
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laborious mission of securing its approval; the amendment gradually |
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garnered wide public support, and with his dedicated efforts, it |
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worked its way through a succession of state legislatures for a |
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decade; on May 5, 1992, Alabama became the 38th state to ratify the |
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centuries-old measure, thus securing its incorporation as the 27th |
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Amendment to the U.S. Constitution some 202 years after it was |
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proposed by a Congress that was conducting its business in New York |
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City; and |
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WHEREAS, A quarter century after its ratification, the 27th |
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Amendment remains the most recent amendment to our nation's |
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constitution, and it is indeed fitting that its unusual history and |
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its significance be recognized; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ratification of the |
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27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. |
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