Congress moves to close slavery loophole in 13th Amendment
H.J.Res. 216 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to prohibit the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime. · Filed by Nikema Williams (D-GA) · 54 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 15, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to close the 13th Amendment's exception that currently permits slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishment. The amendment would prohibit states from imposing forced labor on incarcerated people as a sentence, while explicitly preserving voluntary work programs and court discretion over sentencing alternatives like community service.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward constitutional amendment proposal that removes an existing exception permitting forced labor as criminal punishment. It is a rights-protective measure, not a regulatory or fiscal instrument.
What the text implies
- Amendment would require ratification by 38 states—a high bar that reflects the proposal's transformative scope and the political difficulty of closing a 160-year-old constitutional carve-out.
- The preamble explicitly preserves voluntary work programs and sentencing discretion, signaling intent to avoid disrupting prison labor systems that incarcerated people consent to or that courts impose as alternatives to incarceration.
- Passage would eliminate a constitutional basis for state-imposed forced labor but does not directly address wages, working conditions, or safety standards for incarcerated workers—those remain subject to statutory and regulatory law.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The amendment protects incarcerated people—a historically marginalized group—from being subjected to slavery or forced labor as criminal punishment, while preserving voluntary work opportunities and judicial discretion. This removes a constitutional carve-out that has enabled mass coerced labor in prisons.
Named in the bill
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, 13th Amendment, State legislatures (ratification requirement)
Where it stands
54 cosponsors: 54 Democrats.
- Sep 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 15, 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.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,576 characters) on Sep 19, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,358 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 2026-09-19.
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