This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to close a loophole in the 13th Amendment that has allowed slavery and involuntary servitude to be used as criminal punishment. The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery nationwide but included an exception permitting it as punishment for crime, which the resolution argues has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being subjected to forced labor conditions. The proposed amendment would eliminate this exception entirely by stating that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude may be imposed as a punishment for a crime." The resolution emphasizes that this change would not prevent incarcerated people from voluntarily working or participating in job training programs, nor would it prevent courts from ordering community service as an alternative to incarceration. To become part of the Constitution, the amendment must be approved by two-thirds of both the Senate and House, then ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures.