Constitutional Amendment Process

This briefing was held for congressional staff and the media and the participants discussed how and when the Constitution should be amended.… read more

This briefing was held for congressional staff and the media and the participants discussed how and when the Constitution should be amended. Senator Dale Bumpers (D-Arkansas) talked about his career and said he spent most of it fighting constitutional amendments and worrying about “tinkering with the most sacred legal document in the world” and warned against amending the Constitution on a whim and because of seemingly high public approval. James Courter said it was clear in the Federalist Papers that the Constitution was a framework, not a roadmap, that embodied fundamental principles of government that would always prevail. Abner Mikva said one of the reasons the Constitution was a great document is because every social policy problem had not been integrated into the Constitution. Following the presentations, the press asked questions of the participants. close

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Constitutional Amendment Process

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Program ID:
86907-1
Category:
News Conference
Format:
News Conference
Location:
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
First Aired:
Jun 17, 1997 | 9:45pm EDT | C-SPAN 2
Last Aired:
Jun 21, 1997 | 3:36pm EDT | C-SPAN 1

Airing Details

  • Jun 17, 1997 | 9:45pm EDT | C-SPAN 2
  • Jun 18, 1997 | 1:01am EDT | C-SPAN 2
  • Jun 18, 1997 | 6:28am EDT | C-SPAN 2
  • Jun 21, 1997 | 3:34am EDT | C-SPAN 2
  • Jun 21, 1997 | 3:36pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
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Constitutional Amendment Process

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