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U.S. GOVERNMENT 1: Congress Considers An Amendment

A member of Congress wants to change the U.S. Constitution so that anyone--including Arnold Schwarzenegger--can run for president.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California, introduced legislation in the House of Representatives calling for a constitutional amendment to allow any person who has been a U.S. citizen for 20 years to become president. Currently, only U.S.-born citizens may be Commander in Chief.

Schwarzenegger, governor of California, said he favors allowing foreign-born citizens to run for president. The former bodybuilder, well known for his leading roles in action movies, became a U.S. citizen in 1983. He was born in Austria, a nation in Central Europe.

Rohrabacher said he introduced the legislation to give all foreign-born citizens the chance to be president, not just Schwarzenegger.

“We've got some talented people who might be able to help our country and provide some much-needed leadership,” Rohrabacher said. “There's no reason if they've been a citizen for over 20 years to exclude them."

Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California, was born in Hungary, a nation in Eastern Europe. He said there is no need to change the Constitution, but joked that “if the Austro-Hungarian Empire is re-established in the United States, I will invite Arnold Schwarzenegger to be my lieutenant."

Constitutional amendments require approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate, as well as three-fourths of all state legislatures. Schwarzenegger has not said whether he would run for president if such an amendment becomes law.

--Written by Saundra Latham

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