Congressional Compensation
27th Amendment to the United States Constitution
What does the Congressional Compensation mean?
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment prevents Congress from giving itself an immediate pay raise — any change to congressional compensation cannot take effect until after the next election of Representatives. Originally proposed in 1789 as part of the original Bill of Rights, it was not ratified until 1992, making it the amendment with the longest ratification period (202 years).
Source: U.S. Const. amend. 27
Original Text
“No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”
Plain-English Explanation
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment prevents Congress from giving itself an immediate pay raise — any change to congressional compensation cannot take effect until after the next election of Representatives. Originally proposed in 1789 as part of the original Bill of Rights, it was not ratified until 1992, making it the amendment with the longest ratification period (202 years).
The amendment was revived in 1982 by Gregory Watson, a University of Texas undergraduate student who discovered that no time limit had been placed on its ratification and launched a campaign to get remaining states to ratify it.
Key Doctrines
Landmark Cases
Boehner v. Anderson
(1994)A D.C. Circuit case dismissed a challenge to the Twenty-Seventh Amendment's ratification, effectively confirming its validity as part of the Constitution despite the 203-year gap between proposal and ratification.
Exam Relevance
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment is relevant in discussions of the amendment process, particularly the question of whether ratification deadlines are required and whether amendments proposed centuries ago can still be ratified. It illustrates the flexibility and potential unpredictability of Article V.
Modern Applications
- Congressional pay and cost-of-living adjustments structured to comply with the amendment
- Debates about the validity of other long-pending proposed amendments (such as the Equal Rights Amendment)
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