Which of the following is necessary to propose a new amendment to the Constitution?
• approval by a popular vote held in every state
• approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate
• approval by three quarters of the House and Senate
• approval by the legislatures in at least three-fourths of the states
To propose a new amendment to the Constitution, the necessary step is approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate, which means that option B is the correct answer. It's important to understand the process outlined in the Constitution for proposing amendments.
The process consists of two stages: proposal and ratification. During the proposal stage, two methods are specified in Article V of the Constitution. The first method is for Congress to propose amendments, which requires approval by two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is the framework described in option B.
The second method for proposing amendments is through a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures. However, this method has never been used to propose amendments in the past.
Once an amendment has been proposed, it must go through the ratification stage. The ratification process can be completed in two ways: approval by three-fourths of the state legislatures or approval by conventions in three-fourths of the states, depending on the mode of ratification chosen by Congress. It is important to note that the proposal and ratification stages are separate and distinct processes, each with its own requirements.
In summary, option B, which states approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate, is the correct answer. To propose a new amendment to the Constitution, it requires the approval of two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.