Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that certain individuals are natural born citizens.
Sponsored By: Representative Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1]
Introduced
Summary
Restricts high federal offices to natural‑born citizens. This bill would bar non‑natural‑born people from serving as Representatives, Senators, federal judges, Ambassadors, and other officers who require Senate approval.
Show full summary
- Members of Congress: non‑natural‑born people would be ineligible to serve as Representatives or Senators. The House rule would start on January 3 of the first odd‑numbered year after ratification and the Senate rule would begin that same day but apply only when a Senator's current term ends.
- Federal judiciary: non‑natural‑born people would be barred from serving as Supreme Court or lower federal judges. That restriction would take effect six months after ratification and would operate notwithstanding Article III of the Constitution.
- Ambassadors and Senate‑confirmed officers: non‑natural‑born people would be ineligible to serve as Ambassadors, public Ministers, Consuls, or any other officer whose position requires advice and consent by the Senate. That restriction would also take effect six months after ratification.
The amendment does not define "natural born citizen" and would need ratification by three‑quarters of the states within seven years to become part of the Constitution.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Limits top federal offices to natural-born
This joint resolution would propose a Constitutional amendment to limit who may hold many high federal offices. If three-fourths of states ratified it within seven years, the amendment would become part of the Constitution. It would bar anyone who is not a "natural born citizen" from serving as a Representative, a Senator, a federal Judge, an Ambassador, public Minister, Consul, or any Officer needing Senate advice and consent. The Representative and Senator limits would start on January 3 of the first odd-numbered year after ratification; a sitting Senator would be affected when their current term ends. The Judge and Senate-confirmed officer rules would start six months after ratification. The amendment text does not define "natural born citizen," and the judges rule is stated to apply notwithstanding Article III.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1]
SC • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov