Proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution seldom go anywhere
The vast majority of proposed amendments die quiet, little-mourned deaths in committees and subcommittees.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Drew DeSilver
Senior Writer/Editor
Drew DeSilver is a senior writer at Pew Research Center.
Publications
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Near-record number of House members not seeking re-election in 2018
More members of the U.S. House of Representatives are choosing not to seek re-election than at any time in the past quarter-century.
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Despite talk of ‘trade war’ with China, highest U.S. tariffs are on imports from other Asian countries
The highest U.S. tariffs aren’t on imports from its biggest trading partners, but on products from several developing South Asian nations whose exports are heavily weighted toward clothing, footwear and other products that the U.S. generally taxes highly.
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U.S. tariffs vary a lot, but the highest duties tend to be on imported clothing
Average tariff rates, while useful for comparison, can obscure the wide range of rates imposed on different classes of imports and on specific products.
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U.S. tariffs are among the lowest in the world – and in the nation’s history
The Trump administration’s plans to impose $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, as well as tariffs recently placed on imported steel and aluminum and on imports of solar panels and washing machines, mark a distinct break from decades of U.S. trade policy, which long has generally favored lower tariffs and fewer restrictions on the movement of goods and services across international borders.
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Q&A: The growing use of ‘voter files’ in studying the U.S. electorate
Read a Q&A with Pew Research Center’s Ruth Igielnik and Scott Keeter about a recent study about voter files.
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Remittances from abroad are major economic assets for some developing countries
For five countries – Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Haiti, Tajikistan and Liberia – remittances from citizens abroad are equivalent to at least a quarter of GDP.
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5 facts about Iran
The public unrest that swept across Iran starting in late December began as a protest against poor economic conditions, but it quickly turned into a call for an end to the country’s theocratic regime.
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Split U.S. Senate delegations have become less common in recent years
Doug Jones’ victory in Alabama gives that state its first split Senate delegation in more than two decades. But delegations with two senators of different parties still are much less common than they used to be: With 14 split delegations, the current Senate is tied for the second-fewest in the past 50 years.
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U.S. Senate seats rarely have flipped to other party in recent special elections
Senate seats have rarely flipped to the other party in recent special elections, and turnout usually lags compared with regular elections for the same seat.
