# Plain Language Summary: Constitutional Amendment on House Representation

This proposed constitutional amendment would change how the number of U.S. House Representatives is divided among the states. Right now, House seats are apportioned based on each state's total population. This amendment would change that so that only citizens are counted when dividing up the 435 House seats among the states—non-citizens would be excluded from the count.

Here's what this means in practical terms: If a state has a large population of non-citizens (whether they're immigrants, visa holders, or others), that state would lose House seats under this new system. Those seats would shift to states with lower percentages of non-citizens. For example, a state like California or Texas, which have significant immigrant populations, could lose representation in Congress, while states with fewer non-citizens could gain seats. This would also affect how federal funding is distributed, since many federal programs use House representation numbers to determine how much money each state receives.

The amendment would require approval from two-thirds of both the House and Senate, plus ratification by three-fourths of the states to become part of the Constitution. Currently, the Constitution requires that House seats be apportioned based on the "whole number of persons" in each state, which courts have interpreted to include all residents regardless of citizenship status. This amendment would explicitly change that rule to count only citizens, fundamentally altering how political power is distributed across the country.

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide that Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the number of persons in each State who are citizens of the United States.

Davidson, Warren

<p>This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to require that the seats in the House of Representatives be divided among the states based on their share of U.S. citizens rather than their share of the total U.S. population.</p>