Patrick Leahy: “we have been considering this proposed 28th amendment to the Constitution of the United States since this session began…”

“we have been considering this proposed 28th amendment to the Constitution of the United States since this session began almost 2 months ago. In fact, we have been engaged in floor debate for nearly 4 weeks. The distinguished Senator from Utah and I have begun to think we live on this floor with this debate. Mr. President, stop and think what we are debating--a proposed 28th amendment to the Constitution. The Constitution has been amended only 17 times since the Bill of Rights. During this time, the United States has been through some very, very serious situations--the War of 1812, the Civil War, two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Great Depression, westward expansion. One would have to assume during that time, there have been hundreds and hundreds of times that we have seen crises in our Nation that, some would say, reached a constitutional magnitude. We know that hundreds, even thousands, of constitutional amendments have been proposed, but those who have gone before us have seen fit to only amend the Constitution 17 times--which was very wise--since the Bill of Rights. I say this because nobody in the Senate owns a seat in the Senate. We are only passing through, no matter how long we serve. What we ought to do is remember that we have a responsibility not only to those who went before us, but those who will come after.”