[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 149 (Thursday, September 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1221-E1222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNCONVENTIONAL RATIFICATION OF 
                   THE CONSTITUTION'S 27TH AMENDMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROGER WILLIAMS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2017

  Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Gregory Watson of 
Texas' 25th Congressional District, and to recognize the 25th 
Anniversary this year of the unconventional ratification of the 27th 
Amendment to the Constitution in 1992. And just days from now, 
September 17, 2017, will mark the 230th Anniversary of our 
Constitution's drafting in Philadelphia during the year 1787.
   The 27th Amendment is brief and to the point: ``No law, varying the 
compensation for

[[Page E1222]]

the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, 
until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.''
   A decade prior to the irregular ratification of the 27th Amendment, 
one of my constituents, Gregory Watson, was a 19-year-old student at 
the University of Texas at Austin tasked with writing a term paper for 
a course in American Government. Through his research, Watson stumbled 
upon a still-pending proposed constitutional amendment that the First 
Congress had offered in 1789, pursuant to Article V, to the State 
legislatures for ratification pertaining to the compensation of Members 
of Congress. Despite the intriguing nature and depth of research of his 
paper, Watson earned a grade of ``C'' on it, and in the class overall. 
That grade stood for 35 years until May 2017 when the overall course 
grade was officially raised to an ``A'' by UT-Austin upon formal 
petition of Watson's former professor.
   Unfazed at the time by the original low grade on his paper, Watson 
began in the Spring of 1982 reaching out to seek sponsorship of the 
proposed constitutional amendment in state capitols across the United 
States. In 1983, the Maine Legislature became Watson's first success 
story. After that, in 1984, Colorado's lawmakers gave their approval at 
Watson's urging. And from that point forward--with Watson pressing 
every step of the way--the proposal's momentum strengthened until it 
officially became the 27th Amendment to the Constitution on May 5, 
1992, when the Alabama Legislature approved it, just over 10 years 
after Watson first learned of it. Later that month, both Houses of the 
102nd Congress voted to accept the 27th Amendment's unorthodox path to 
final ratification.
   In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would say that the story of a determined 
student should serve as a reminder of how much influence average 
citizens can have if they will step up and get involved in the 
political process.

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