Evening star., 1932-02-17
The "L,me Duck Amendment.

After many years the proposal of
Senator George w. Norris Of Nebraska
to amend the Constitution so as to do
away with lame duck" sessions OF
Congress will soon be submitted to the
States for ratification. BY a vote OF
335 to 56 the House yesterday adopted
the resolution Of submission. 1t had
already been adopted by the Senate.
In the House the Senate resolution was
amenoed, but the amendments are not
fundamental and do not change the
intent and purpose of the Norris reso-
luton 1t is expected that these dif-
ferences will be ironed out successfully
In conference and that at last the
twentieth amendment to the Constitu-
ton will be submitted to the States.
The proposed amendment should be
ratified. Its effect will be to do away
with the present short sessions CT
Congress and to bring the new Con-
gress to Washington the first week In
January after its election. 1t will bring
the newly elected President OF the
United States into Office two weeks
later. In plain English. the proposed
amendment will do away with the pres
ent process of legislation by men who
have been defeated at the polls and will
shorten the tenure of Office of a Presi-
dent who has failed of reelection. 1t
is true that the old Congress may still
be called into special session and asked
to deal with legislation following the
election in November. But such con-
tlngency is not likely to occur unless an
emergency demanding meeting OF the
National Legislature should arise. Or
Congress might continue in regular ses-
sion from January to January IN an
election year. But that, too, is remote
possibility. To all intents and purposes
the lame duck sessions will be abol-
ished. This, after all, is just common
sense. There is no good reason why
members OF Congress who have been de-
feated at the polls should continue to
make laws for the people who have de-
feated them, and many good reasons
why they should not.
The proposed amendment to the Con-
stitution has received the approval OF
a special committee of the American
Bar Association which went exhaus-
lively into the matter, and OF the asso-
citation itself. Many times the Norris
resolution proposing the submission OF
such an amendment has passed the
Senate, and in the last Congress 1t
finally passed the House, but with an
amendment fixing a limitation for the
second regular session OF Congress.
That amendment was insisted upon by
the late Speaker Nicholas Longworth.
1t prevented final action by both
houses on the resolution. AS the reso-
luton now returns to the Senate 1t
carries no such amendment.
The House did adopt an amendment
providing that the proposed amendment
must be ratified by the States within
seven years after its submission to the
State Legislatures. This Is the time
limit which was fixed for the ratification
of the eighteenth amendment. How
ever, in passing the lame duck
amendment resolution the House pro-
y.ded that the act Of ratification must
be by Legislatures the entire membership
of at least one branch Of which shall
have been elected subsequent to the date
OF submission. 1t is not expected that
there will be difhculty in bringing about
the ratification Of the proposed amend
ment by three-fourths Of the States
within the time specified. il that time
limit remains within the resolution
The eighteenth amendment was sub
mitted to the States by resolution OF
Congress on December IT. 1917, and
was declared ratified by the Secretary
OF State on January 20. 1919. The
nineteenth amendment, providing Tor
woman suffrage, was submitted to the
States on June S, 1919, and was de-
clared ratified on August 26, 1920.