The Alternate Times

By Rhonda Robinson Taylor

September 10, 2029

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Congress is set to debate a package of proposed constitutional amendments next week that would enshrine reproductive freedom, guarantee the right to clean air and water, and mandate a minimum tax on the wealthy.

“For those of us who have assumed the Constitution cannot be amended, that we are tied to the views of our 18th Century forefathers whose good intentions could not have possibly anticipated the challenges we face today, I’m pleased to announce this long-overdue update,” said U.S. House Speaker Joe Neguse, D-Colo.

Some in Congress, however, are pushing to advance a single amendment this year, which would authorize all future amendments to be approved through popular referendums rather than by states. While the Ocasio-Cortez administration has been closely involved in discussions around the amendment package, the president has not publicly weighed in on the sequencing of the amendments.

“President Ocasio-Cortez believes there are currently enough votes in the state legislatures to ratify all of the amendments, but she is fully prepared to barnstorm the country in favor of the package if the referendum amendment becomes law first,” said a senior White House aide speaking on condition of anonymity.

The amendments up for consideration would do the following:

• Require Congress to refer future amendments for a national popular vote
• Recognize a right to reproductive freedom
• Replace the U.S. Senate with a larger, appointed body with limited legislative and investigatory powers
• Establish the right to clean air and water
• Require a minimum tax rate for the wealthy
• Enlarge the U.S. House of Representatives and cap district sizes at 300,000 residents
• Enact the Equal Rights Amendment, with added protections for the LGBTQ+ population
• Expand the rights of noncitizens to due process and equal protection in immigration proceedings
• Require federal and state governments to consider climate change impacts of major policy decisions
• End qualified immunity for federal employees

Although congressional Democrats first proposed an amendment in January to remove Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices and enact sweeping reform, Neguse brokered a deal to withdraw the proposal in exchange for the GOP appointees’ resignations.