The American Amendment

A Grassroots Amendment to the US Constitution

Below are points that we think could be included but they still need to be written in the proper format and correctly worded to be legally meaningful. Help write the Amendment. Send in your wording suggestions. We will incorporate the most popular wording and additions provided they enhance liberty and act to return the federal government to its proper limited role.

We don't need to see additions or wording that grant additional power to congress, the President or the supreme court, they have already taken plenty of powers that do not rightfully belong to them. This is about restoring a proper balance to the federal government which has clearly overreached. At the same time it is not enough to merely yank power from them, it has to be done in a way that leaves the federal government able to serve its actual purpose and meet its actual responsibilities. These purposes and responsibilities are primarily national defense and international trade relations.

Be a part of the solution. Help out. What is shown below is a beginning of the process not the end. The American Amendment will be shaped by Americans like you. Join The Committee help write the amendment.

Articles The Short List
Article One  
Eliminate the Federal Income Tax/Payroll Tax/Death Tax in all forms
     Define what taxes (non-income based excise taxes, import taxes, rents, royalties, etc.) are legitimate and bar all other forms of taxes or fees.
  You cannot lose half of your body weight without a going on a serious diet. Likewise, we cannot shrink this federal government to a reasonable size without starving it. Extreme tax cuts, particularly the elimination of the income tax along with a supermajority requirement to raise any tax, is the only way to accomplish true reform. Perhaps better is to specifically name the taxes that each government level can collect. Like Federal can collect import taxes, State can collect sales taxes, county or city collects sales tax and perhaps, as originally intended, ad valorum taxes would be limited to funding schools.
Article Two  
Term Limits for congress.
     Include a proviso against running for a different office while holding office.
  We are drowning in a system that rewards the Political Class at the expense of the average citizen. Congress was never meant to be a career.
Other Articles The Long List
Article Three  
Balanced Budget.
     Limited the budget to the prior year’s budget plus any surplus in the prior year’s revenue. Include an automatic cutting mechanism when the budget is unbalanced. Require 10% of the federal budget be utilized to pay down federal debt in addition to making any interest payments.
  Federal borrowing is a way of taxing future generations in order to avoid making responsible decisions today. In addition federal borrowing raises interest rates for any other person or business. There are only so many people out there lending money.
Article Four  
Free Political Speech
     Clarify the first amendment to cover ALL political speech. Thereby voiding all campaign finance legislation or restrictions on political speech in any private organization. Bar any governmental agency from spending money to advocate on behalf of or against any candidate or issue. Specify that state and/or local governments have the power to regulate or bar obscene or pornographic material. Eliminate all forms of public funding for campaigns. Bar the federal government from paying for any election expenses. States should fund polling costs.
  Campaign finance reform is a way for the incumbents to limit the possibility of challengers. Whether we like it or not money has a major influence on politics and always will. By limiting money in campaigns congress has given a disproportionate amount of influence to organizations that can spend money without looking like they are spending money. These include particularly the national media which have proven they cannot be trusted to provide a balanced perspective related to anything political. When average Americans are not allowed to speak and purchase advertising, the national media get to freely influence the election without opposing views getting in the way. The national media has not only proven to be untrustworthy, they also come down on the side of giving more power to the government in almost every case. Finally, the incumbent has a tremendous advantage over any challenger when the incumbent has franking privileges, name recognition, bridges and roads named after them, etc. The final and real purpose of all campaign finance law is to preserve the incumbent in office. Just one more crooked, cynical device to prevent the people of American from disposing of these worthless bums.
Article Five  
Immigration Reform
     Require that any automatic citizenship be based on one or more parents being a citizen. Pay two times actual cost to local municipalities for detaining and housing illegal aliens while they await deportation by the Federal Government. Watch mayors and city councils across the country eliminate "Sanctuary Cities" and become vigorous proponents of enforcement. Bar citizenship for illegal aliens until they have been outside the US for 10 years. Set reasonable limits on immigration that allows for assimilation. Specify that only citizens shall be counted by the census.
       The US has historically been friendly to new immigrants and this has helped to build the world's most prosperous nation. It provides a constant source of new ideas and low cost labor. However flooding the market with either is a bad idea. One will cause an overabundance of cheap labor bringing down wages for working Americans. The other stalls the assimilation process. Having a bunch of immigrants coming from a socialist or communist state to a free state without allowing a proper amount of time for assimilation leads to a population that does not understand and cannot defend liberty. Just ask the people of Washington and Oregon about all of the Californians "escaping" socialism by bringing it with them.
     It is not necessary or even a good idea to base our immigration policy on the best interests of the immigrant. We don't want to invite people who will merely be a burden on society, of a criminal nature or who have no desire to become Americanized. If they wish to retain their former national identity let them remain there. Our immigration policy ought to require every immigrant to support themselves and their dependents, learn to speak proficient English, be law abiding and spend five years in the country before being offered citizenship. If after five years they have not learned English they should be asked to leave. If they fail in the other respects they should be sent home immediately. While it may be a good idea to allow spouses and other family members to acquire residency permits, US citizenship should not be based on familial relationship. Osama bin Laden has family in America, would we allow that to influence his immigration decision?
Article Six  
Legislative Due Consideration
     Require the actual reading of all bills on the floor of the originating chamber by the sponsor(s) of the bill while a quorum is present. Require a two week consideration period after the reading is completed before final votes on a bill. Making changes to a bill resets the clock. Require all regulations promulgated by the executive or any other federal body to be ratified by both houses of congress before they take effect.
  No more smoke filled chambers with bills not read or understood by the people expected to responsibly govern this nation. Requiring the bills to be read will help slow the process and ensure some of these ridiculous laws never see the light of day. In addition, which one of these jokers is going to stand up there and read their six thousand page bill? By requiring regulations to be approved by congress we ensure the people have control over the laws of the nation. No more passing the buck  by a cowardly congress when the EPA or IRS get out of hand.
Article Seven  
Life Amendment
     Bar the federal government from requiring any state to allow abortion, euthanasia or assisted suicide. Bar the federal government from paying for any abortion or providing funds to any organization that funds or performs abortions.
  It is an immoral act to kill unborn children. We certainly do not need a federal government telling the people of the US they must endorse or allow it. The same applies to euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Article Eight  
Treaty Limitations
     No Treaty or Agreement, of any sort, with any nation, multinational or international organization may surrender all or part of the sovereign power of the US, or of any of the several states, or infringe or limit any citizen's rights recognized in the US Constitution or as existed in the common law before the Constitution was written. Treaties should generally be for the purpose of providing a mutual defense in the face of a common threat and for agreeing to uses of and for international territories and waters such as Antarctica and the open ocean where such uses relate to limited resources.
  The US Constitution is designed to protect the God given rights enjoyed by every American. Congress has recently been looking at delegating a number of powers to foreign or international bodies. Probably for the same reasons they allow so many agencies to propagate some many regulations, it is a way of passing the buck. It will allow them to escape responsibility by pointing at some foreign body as the culprit. They do not have the right to delegate the powers that were delegated to them. As Americans, we cannot allow this to happen. We cannot allow the UN, governed by a bunch of progressivists, socialists and dictators, to determine how free Americans will live. The UN is not the only international body being used but it's corruption is a good indicator of the corruption any international body will suffer from.
Article Nine  
Right to Work/ Earn a Living/ Private Contracts
     No person may be required to join a union as a condition of employment. This should not be construed to deny any person the right to form or participate in a union, they cannot force others to join or pay dues. No federal, state or municipality, nor any entity created by one of them, may charge a fee for any license, permit, etc. required to operate a business or for personnel use. In cases where a license to prove ability might be required no charge may be made for the licensing process. No branch of the federal, state or local government may void any part of a private contract that specifies the amount of payment that must be made, that requires payment to be made in any foreign or domestic currency or that requires payment to be made with a specific precious metal.
  People must be allowed to work, to provide for their families and to otherwise enjoy the fruits of their labor. Nobody has a right to tell me what I must charge for my services or how many hours I can choose to work in a day. This includes starting a business without some petty bureaucrat trying to protect political cronies or constantly looking for new and novel ways to separate people from their money. And speaking of money people have a right to determine for themselves what they will accept in exchange for their products or services. The federal monopoly created by the Federal Reserve has resulted in a constant state of inflation that did not exist before this quasi-governmental organization was formed. The Constitution does not authorize the creation of a central bank but the Communist Manifesto requires it. Which do we live by?

"The state shall not make or impose any law which shall abridge the right of any citizen to follow any occupation or profession of his or her choice." Free Market/ Right to Work Amendment proposed by Rose and Milton Friedman

Article Ten  
Education and Religion
     It is self evident that a combination of instilled moral values, religious beliefs and primary instruction in the usual arts of arithmetic, science and grammar comprise a person's education. A parent's right to direct all aspects of their minor child's education shall not be infringed or denied by any branch of the federal, state or local government. Parents have a fundamental right to choose the educational facility attended by their children or to educate their children at home. No person may be taxed or otherwise required to subsidize or fund the education of another person's child except in cases where the child is a ward of the state. In cases where a child is a ward of the state, the state shall become responsible for directing and funding the child's education. The state may not prevent a child that is a ward of the state from attending regular religious services in the community. 
  How can a school system controlled by the government be expected to teach proper critical thinking as it relates to government powers and government tyranny? Control of the school systems must be returned to the absolute local level. School districts controlled by parents that determine the curriculum, the budget and the staffing decisions.
To keep ad valorum taxes reasonable, each district would have two councils, one would be made up of parents representatives and the other property owner representatives. Both would have to approve any ad valorum tax or tax increase.
Allow any group of parents representing 100 or more children to form an independent school district that would be entitled to 75% of the per student funding in the overall district. The independent district would have complete charge of their curriculum as well as hiring of faculty. An independent district would have no taxing authority. This should be required at the state level.
 

ParentalRights.org Amendment as proposed

Section 1. The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.
 Section 2. Neither the United States nor any State shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.
 Section 3. No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.
Article Eleven  
States Rights and Public Corruption
     Repeal the Seventeenth Amendment. For a period of one year after ratification allow the Governor of each state, with the consent of the least numerous branch of the state legislature, to recall the state's US Senator and appoint an alternate to serve until the current term of office would normally expire. Beginning one year after ratification, require each of the US Supreme Court Justices to be reaffirmed by the Senate. Any Justice not reaffirmed within eighteen months of ratification would cease to serve on the court and the President would be entitled to appoint a replacement with the advice and consent of the Senate.
  When the original constitution was created it was designed to cause fights. The people who created it understood correctly that a consolidation of power spelled the end of freedom. That is one of the reasons Senators were not selected by popular election. By having them controlled by the state governments the Senate was reluctant to support laws that imposed on state prerogatives. In addition, with the power to confirm judicial nominees the states exercised power over the federal judiciary and prevented that federal branch from overreaching.  Providing for direct election of Senators seems like a good idea perhaps but it removed the barrier to federal power consolidation. The current tyranny of the judiciary is a direct result of the direct election of Senators and has subsequently resulted in a federal government that no longer respects the Constitution as the states no longer have a mechanism to require that respect. It is no coincidence that the federal government's disregard for the constitution began in earnest shortly after the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified.
Possible Article  
Apportionment

     Commencing on the first even tenth year following the adoption of this amendment, and thereafter on every tenth year, the apportionment of delegates to the House of Representatives shall be decided using the average number of voters having actually voted in the prior three Presidential elections.

     Each state shall provide a total of the number of voters following each Presidential election to the states House delegation. At a time determined by the House, each state delegation shall provide the average number of voters in the three prior Presidential elections for their state as a Certified Total to the Speaker of the House. Within 30 days the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall total all of the reported numbers and divide by 250. That number shall constitute an Apportionment Seat. Each state's Certified Total shall be divided by the number contained in an Apportionment Seat and each state shall be entitled to one Seat in the House of Representatives for each Apportionment Seat and for each fraction that is greater than 1/2 of an Apportionment Seat. Each state shall be entitled to at least one Seat. The total number of Seats awarded to all states will probably exceed 250 using this method but shall not exceed 250 plus the total number of states.

     Each state shall, according to the total number of Seats allotted to the state, create districts. When creating districts states shall not split cities or counties, or parts thereof, into more than one district nor may a district be represented by more than one Seat.  The area included within a district shall be contiguous where possible. A combination of cities or counties that share territories or pool significant administrative personnel or resources shall be considered as one single city or county. Acting within these rules, each state shall attempt to ensure it's districts contain approximately an equal number of voters.

     States shall be limited to redistricting not more than once every ten years.

     States can choose not to use districts but instead allow all Seats to be filled in order of popular vote. Using this method the candidate receiving the highest vote total shall fill the first Seat, the candidate receiving the second highest vote total shall fill the second Seat and so on until all Seats allocated to the state have been filled.

     Within 60 days of the Certified Totals being delivered to the Speaker of the House the Members of the house may by a 3/5ths vote challenge the validity of a particular state's Certified Total. The state in question shall not be entitled to vote and their number shall be subtracted from the total membership when determining the 3/5th requirement. The House will appoint a member to investigate the state's Certified Total and issue a Report to the House concerning the challenge. The purpose of the Report shall be to determine whether the Certified Total represents the proper average of actual voters in the three prior Presidential elections and whether or not the state made reasonable efforts to ensure the voters counted were legally entitled to vote. The Report shall show whether the Certified Total was reasonably correct or give an estimation of the discrepancy and how the determination was made. If the Report shows a discrepancy that would result in the number of Seats the state is entitled to being changed then the House shall hold another vote to determine whether or not to accept the Report and adjust the number of Seats the state is entitled to accordingly. This vote shall require a 3/5ths majority to accept the Report and subsequently adjust the number of Seats the state is entitled to. The state in question shall not be entitled to vote and their number shall be subtracted from the total membership when determining the 3/5th requirement.
  Do we really need 435 members of the house? Washington noted that to a point we should keep the proportional numbers of representatives to people as low as possible but eventually congress would grow so large as to be an unwieldy mob. Seems like once again the founding fathers may have been right. Currently we have 435 members generating 435 different sets of pork barrel projects. The savings, created by reducing the number of congressmen, in pork spending could go a long way toward balancing the budget. There is no good solid argument for 435. It is an arbitrary number selected by a congress that barely had long distance telephones, no decent road system to speak of, no internet or cell phones, no television and half the country still using horses for basic transportation. This is not to say we don't need representatives but if we maintained the proportions originally designated by the constitution we would have 10,000 congressmen. What a nightmare. It is a fact that every congressperson is a tax plan and a headache. Setting the number loosely at 250-300 reduces the headaches. Setting the number of representatives in a state by "voting" population will encourage the states to encourage voters to turn out. Further, states will have no interest in preventing any voter, of any race, color or creed for voting since it could have a negative effect on the state's congressional representation. Right now it is clear the only voters that are encouraged to turn out are the ones looking for a handout. That empowers govenrment.
Possible Article  
Retirement and Health
     Allow a 10% profits tax on corporations with more than $5 million in annual profits, indexed to inflation, in order to continue funding for Social Security and Medicare. Allow the state's governors to appoint a representative to a national board that would oversee the management and disbursement of these funds. Congress would be barred from legislating regarding these funds. Current Social Security beneficiaries would be guaranteed benefit levels for life. The governors board would be empowered to raise the retirement age incrementally to 75 and to means test future recipients to ensure the viability of the system. All funds in excess of current operating costs will be invested in Gold or Silver bullion. The federal and state governments are explicitly barred from borrowing from or against this program.
     20% of the funds collected shall be block granted directly to the states based on population. These funds are intended to be used to ensure basic health care services are available to the citizenry. These funds will be used to provide grants and scholarships to medical and dental students(who will be required to volunteer time and services after graduation., fund community medical/dental clinics, etc. The states shall have complete discretion over the use of funds provided except that no state may use the funding directly or indirectly to fund abortion, euthanasia or any research that requires the creation or destruction of human embryos. Except in cases where a common law connection shows government liability related to the injury or condition concerned, nothing in this amendment nor any other part of the constitution shall be construed to require any branch of government to fund health coverage beyond the funding provided in this amendment.
     This Article including the programs and the taxing authority granted herein will be transferred entirely to the individual states 50 years after ratification. Each state may choose to continue the program for it's citizens. Each state shall also be responsible for funding the program using whatever taxing mechanism provided for in the state's constitution. The Federal Government including the congress, the judiciary and the executive shall have no oversight authority regarding this program thereafter.
  If you receive Social Security aren't you tired and disgusted how every election turns into another chance to scare the seniors into voting a certain way because the other side might take it all away and leave you starving? As a taxpayer aren't you tired of a government that plays games with your life as a matter of political theater? By laying down a constitutional foundation for Social Security we can stop the political gamesmanship while ensuring a safety net for our seniors.
Lets face it, currently Social Security is; unconstitutional, unreliable and almost certain to go bankrupt in the near future. The congress has wasted the "trust" fund. Until there is a constitutional mandate and rules and restrictions on the congress Social Security will never be secure. As Jefferson said "we must bind the government down with the chains of the constitution".
Possible Article  
Court of Public Integrity
Create a Court of Public Integrity. Partially elected by the people and partially appointed by the legislatures of the states.  They would be empowered to investigate cases involving public corruption with the limited power to remove any federal or state official (whether elected or appointed) or government employee from office. Such a removal would prevent future election, appointment or government employment for a period of time. Criminal prosecution would still fall under the regular criminal justice system. Bar any elected official or government employee of the last ten years from serving on the court.
  Barnie Frank runs a prostitution ring out of his house. Tim Geithner cheats on his taxes and is rewarded by running the agency that should have held him responsible. Hillary Clinton cheats the elderly (WhiteWater)and takes bribes by "investing" in cattle futures. Obama is taking bribes from Tony Rezko in the form of real estate. Somehow the FBI never gets around to investigating the people who pay their salary. Somehow the Treasury never gets around to investigating the politically favored. We need an independent court that can at least toss these guys out of office when they break the law.
Possible Article  
Restrictions Monopolies, patents and copyrights.

Monopolies may be allowed to persons for their own productions in literature, and their own inventions in the arts, for a term not exceeding the greater of 25 years or the lifetime of the original creator of the literature or invention, but for no longer term, and no other purpose.
 

Thomas Jefferson's original proposal

Article 9. Monopolies may be allowed to persons for their own productions in literature, and their own inventions in the arts, for a term not exceeding -- years, but for no longer term, and no other purpose.
Possible Article  
Restriction on Federal ownership of Land.

It makes no sense that the federal government ties up enormous parts of various states. They never should have been left with any significant ownership in these states. This article would require the federal government to divest itself of holdings in excess of 10% of the land area of any particular state. The methods would be sale to the public or quit claim to the state government. Rather than strictly require the federal government to divest itself of these lands another possibility would be to require the federal government to pay ad valorum (property) tax on all lands in excess of the 10% mark at the commercial real estate rate.
  They say they are preserving it for future generations but this lie is exposed when you ask them "which generation?" My Children? My Grandchildren? Great Grandchildren? The answer is always some vague never to arrive "future generation". The single biggest polluter and destroyer of the environment is the federal government. If we really want to preserve it for future generations put it in private hands.
Possible Article  
  YOU Decide

 

 

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