Article Five of the United States Constitution details the two-step process for amending the nation's plan of government.
[5] Then, upon being properly ratified, the archivist issues a certificate proclaiming that an amendment has become an operative part of the Constitution.
Congress's authority to set a ratification deadline was affirmed in 1939 by the Supreme Court of the United States in Coleman v. Miller (307 U.S.
[7] Collectively, members of the House and Senate typically propose around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress.
The last time a proposal gained the necessary two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate for submission to the states was the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978.