Proposal to require all Congress members be born as U.S. citizens
H.J.Res. 206 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that any Representative or Senator be a natural born citizen. · Filed by Scott Perry (R-PA) · Introduced Jul 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This joint resolution proposes a change to the Constitution. It would require all future Representatives and Senators to be natural born citizens. Members who are not natural born citizens could finish their current term. They could not run for re-election. The change would need approval from three-fourths of state legislatures. This must happen within seven years to become law.
Who it affects
The proposal would affect naturalized citizens who want to serve in Congress. Naturalized citizens are people born in other countries who became U.S. citizens through a legal process.
One thing to notice
The proposal would stop current members of Congress who are naturalized citizens from running again. This would affect members even if they have served for many years.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jul 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 23, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- joint resolution — A formal proposal from Congress that can propose a change to the Constitution.
- natural born citizens — People born as U.S. citizens, not people who became citizens later.
- naturalized citizens — People born in another country who became U.S. citizens through a legal process.
- Representatives and Senators — Members of Congress who make federal laws.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,471 characters) on Jul 24, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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