CONGRESS FOR VOTERS

Keith Self (R-TX)

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the seventeenth article of amendment.

H.J.Res. 198 · House resolution Government Operations and Politics

A Republican resolution with 9 Republican cosponsors · See all 9 cosponsors

Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

In committee

Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.

The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.

Its path through Congress

  1. Introduced
  2. In Committee

What this bill would do

This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The primary goal of the resolution is to repeal the seventeenth article of amendment. If ratified by three-fourths of the States within ten years, the repeal would become valid. The proposal includes a clause to ensure it does not affect Senators currently serving or chosen before the amendment becomes valid.

Yes

  • Scored +8

    Does this leave more decisions to the states?

    Repealing the Seventeenth Amendment would return the power to elect Senators to state legislatures rather than direct popular vote, increasing state-level authority.

  • Scored +3

    Would people in rural areas be better off under this?

    State-based legislative selection of Senators may provide more structural weight to rural interests compared to direct popular vote.

The opposite

  • Scored -5

    Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?

    Moving away from direct elections for Senators reduces the transparency of the democratic process for the general public.

  • Scored -3

    Would people in cities be better off under this?

    The shift from direct popular election to state legislative selection may diminish the political influence of high-density urban populations.