H.J.Res. 85: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the maintenance of a system of social insurance that provides Social Security for its citizens.

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H.J.Res. 85: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the maintenance of a system of social insurance that provides Social Security for its citizens.

108th Congress · introduced 2004-01-20 · Social Welfare · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

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Official title

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the maintenance of a system of social insurance that provides Social Security for its citizens.

Plain summary

Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits Congress from passing any law which alters the fundamental structure of the Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program under title II of the Social Security Act as a social insurance program which provides guaranteed benefits that cannot be outlived to retirees and guaranteed benefits to disabled workers, the families of retirees and disabled workers, and the survivors of deceased retirees and workers. Requires that such benefits: (1) be fully protected against inflation; (2) incorporate a progressive benefit structure under which the benefit amount is based on the level of earnings a worker had during his or her working years; and (3) be financed in a way that pools risks and rewards broadly across society and between generations. Prohibits Congress from passing any law which diverts revenues from the Social Security trust funds, including contributions under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and the Self-Employment Contributions Act, or uses such revenues for any purpose other than paying Social Security benefits and financing the administrative costs associated with paying such benefits. Prohibits Congress from passing any law which fully or partially privatizes Social Security, including the establishment of individual investment accounts which replace some or all of the Social Security benefits, which directly or indirectly cause reductions in such benefits, or which are used to finance such benefits.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

The strongest published arguments

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Michaud, Michael H. [D-ME-2] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108hjres85.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/hjres>

Record fed-us-cong108-hjres85 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108