Page images
PDF
EPUB

D. ARTICLES OPPOSED TO TAX LIMITATION

Citizens National Committee. A proposed Amendment to the Constitution: 25 percent Tax Rate Limitation. Its Pros and Cons (Research Report No. 2-403). 1945. 23 p. pamphlet.

...

Summary of the proposal, and the pro and con views of various people. Groves, Harold M. Federal Constitutional Tax Limitation. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference on Taxation under the auspices of the National Tax Association. 1945. pp. 314-320.

Experience of States with tax limitations, fallacies in the arguments of proponents of the limitation, undesirable consequences of the proposed limitation.

Should a Constitutional Limit be Placed on Federal Income Tax Rates? Modern Industry, March 15, 1944, p. 109. A debate with Mr. Seidman.

Olmstead, H. M. The Tax Limitation Delusion. National Municipal Review, February 1945, pp. 64-68.

Discusses and opposes the 25 percent limitation.

Patman, Wright. Attack on Sixteenth Amendment to United States Constitution. Congressional Record, May 31, 1951, pp. 6164-6169.

Reproduction of Legislative Reference report on the Method of Amending the Constitution being followed by the proponents of the Amendment, together with a reproduction by Mr. Patman of his June 8, 1944, speech on the proponents of the Amendment.

Should the Federal Taxing Power Be Limited? Congressional Digest, November 1944. pp. 259-288.

A pro and con discussion.

U. S. Treasury Department, Division of Tax Research, Proposed, Constitutional Amendment to Prohibit Federal Tax Rates Exceeding 25 Percent. 1944. 20 p. mimeographed study.

Dangerous consequences of the proposed constitutional amendment.

FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

HEARINGS

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON
SEPARATION OF POWERS.

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE

NINETIETH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

S. 2307

A BILL TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR CALLING CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS FOR PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, ON APPLICATION OF THE LEGISLATURES OF TWO-THIRDS OF THE STATES, PURSUANT TO ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION

88-138

OCTOBER 30 AND 31, 1967

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 1968

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.8. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 Price 60 cents

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman

JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, Arkansas
SAM J. ERVIN, JR., North Carolina
THOMAS J. DODD, Connecticut

PHILIP A. HART, Michigan

EDWARD V. LONG, Missouri

EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
BIRCH BAYH, Indiana

QUENTIN N. BURDICK, North Dakota

JOSEPH D. TYDINGS, Maryland

GEORGE A. SMATHERS, Florida

EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illinois
ROMAN L. HRUSKA, Nebraska

HIRAM L. FONG, Hawali

HUGH SCOTT, Pennsylvania

STROM THURMOND, South Carolina

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEPARATION OF POWERS

SAM J. ERVIN, JR., North Carolina, Chairman

JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, Arkansas

QUENTIN N. BURDICK, North Dakota

EVERETT MCKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illinois

ROMAN L. HRUSKA, Nebraska

PAUL L. WOODARD, Chief Counsel and Staff Director

PHILIP B. KURLAND, Chief Consultant
LAWRENCE J. BRADY, Minority Counsel

(11)

[blocks in formation]

Opening statements:

Page

1 43

Dirksen, Hon. Everett McKinley, a U.S. Senator from the State of
Illinois...

Ervin, Hon. Sam J., Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of North
Carolina, chairman, Subcommittee on Separation of Powers.....
Hruska, Hon. Roman L., a U.S. Senator from the State of Nebraska.

Testimony:

Bickel, Alexander M., Chancellor Kent professor of law and legal
history, Yale University, New Haven, Conn---
Mendelson, Wallace, professor of government, University of Texas,
Austin, Tex...

Proxmire, Hon. William, a U.S. Senator from the State of Wisconsin.
Sorenson, Theodore C., attorney at law, New York City, N.Y......
Appendix to statement...

Additional statements:

Bickel, Alexander M., letter of October 2, 1967, to Prof. Phillip
Kurland on S. 2307_

Dirksen, Hon. Everett McKinley, a U.S. Senator from the State of
Illinois, statement to the Senate of April 19, 1967, on "Validity of
Constitutional Convention Petitions Regarding Reapportionment.".
Hruska, Hon. Roman L., a U.S. Senator from the State of Nebraska,
statement to the Senate of May 10, 1967, on "The Reapportionment
Crisis"

[blocks in formation]

Kurland, Philip B., memorandum to Senator Ervin on S. 2307------
McCloskey, Robert G., memorandum on S. 2307..

233

237

Tydings, Hon. Joseph D., a U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland,
statement to the Senate of April 19, 1967, on "Validity of Consti-
tutional Convention Petitions Regarding Reapportionment".

203

Documents:

Constitution of the United States, article V...

1

S. 2307.

2

Federalist Paper No. 43 (Madison)

89

Federalist Paper No. 85 (Hamilton).
Farrand, "The Records of the Federal Convention", 3 ed. excerpts
pertaining to Article V..

93

96

Articles:

American Enterprise Institute "A Convention to Amend the Constitu-
tion: Questions Involved in Calling a Convention upon Applications
by State Legislatures." Analysis No. 5 (June 16, 1967)...

110

Black, Charles L., Jr., "The Proposed Amendment of Article V: A
Threatened Disaster," 72 Yale L.J. 957 (1963)--.

153

Bonfield, Arthur Earl, "Proposing Constitutional Amendments by
Convention: Some Problems," 39 Notre Dame L. 659 (1964)

159

Corwin, Edward S., and Ramsey, May Louise, "The Constitutional

Amendment," 26 Notre Dame L. 185 (1951)...

140

Small, Norman J., "Procedures for Amending the United States
Constitution," Library of Congress, Legislative Reference Service,
American Law Division (1965)-

[blocks in formation]

Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 378 (1798).

Leser v. Garnett, 258 U.S. 130 (1922).

[blocks in formation]

PROCEDURES FOR CALLING CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS UPON APPLICATION BY STATES

MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1967

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEPARATION OF POWERS

OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10:10 a.m., in room 2228, New Senate Office Building, Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen presiding.

Present: Senators Dirksen, Hruska, and Tydings.

Also present: Paul L. Woodard, chief counsel, Lawrence J. Brady, minority counsel; Prof. Philip B. Kurland, chief consultant, Prof. Robert G. McCloskey, consultant, and Prof. Alexander M. Bickel, consultant.

Senator DIRKSEN. The committee will come to order.
I will ask that there be included at this point in the hearings record

the text of article V of the Constitution of the United States.
(Article V follows:)

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

ARTICLE V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Senator DIRKSEN. Senator Ervin is unable to be present at today's session. I think it would be appropriate to insert into the record the statement which he made on August 17, 1967, when he introduced Senate bill 2307.

I will also ask that a copy of the bill be made a part of the record. (The statement of Senator Ervin, and S. 2307 follow:)

REMARKS OF SENATOR SAM J. ERVIN, JR., DEMOCRAT OF NORTH CAROLINA Mr. President, I introduce, for appropriate reference, a bill to establish procedures for calling constitutional conventions for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States upon application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the States, pursuant to Article V of the Constitution.

(1)

« PreviousContinue »