Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide that Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the number of persons in each State who are citizens of the United States.

# HJRES 37: Citizenship-Based Congressional Apportionment (Plain Language Summary) **What the Bill Would Do** This proposed constitutional amendment would change how House of Representatives seats are divided among states. Currently, seats are distributed based on each state's total population (counted in the decennial census). Under this amendment, seats would instead be based only on the number of U.S. citizens in each state, excluding non-citizens and undocumented immigrants from the count. Since constitutional amendments require approval from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress plus ratification by three-fourths of states, this would be a significant change requiring substantial political support. **Who It Affects and Key Provisions** This change would primarily affect states with large non-citizen populations.

States like California, Texas, and Florida—which have substantial immigrant populations—could lose House seats and electoral votes under this system, while states with fewer immigrants might gain representation. The amendment contains no exceptions or special provisions; it simply redefines the population count used for apportionment purposes. This would impact not just congressional representation but also federal funding formulas and electoral college votes, which are also based on population counts. **Current Status** The bill (HJRES 37) was introduced in the 119th Congress by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and is currently in committee, meaning it has not yet advanced for a full vote in either chamber.