While I still believe we should be trying to get to a place with a democracy more like my June 14 revision, I realize that Constitutional amendments are big steps, that my proposals are a radical shift from where we are now, and that far too many people still believe that our current system is about as good as it can be. So, I am adjusting my proposal again toward less dramatic change. However, while I may agree with those who are working for single-issue changes such as publicly funded elections, impeachment of our current would-be-monarch, universal health care, etc., I cannot avoid the fact that our system is simply not good enough at preventing tyranny. While measures like Congressional oversight and even impeachment can slow or even stop the abuses of those who try to subvert democracy for their own power, they can only act after a president, or other member of the executive, has committed violations. Furthermore, due to the massive amount of power vested in a president, it requires a great deal of political unpopularity to begin such proceedings. For instance, George W. Bush began violating both US and international law in 2002, and had earned himself a prison-cell-for-life by 2003, but because there was no political will to hold him accountable for these violations at that time, it has taken four years to even begin Congressional hearings, and even still, most Congress members, including Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers, are refusing to begin, or even support, impeachment proceedings.
We need to be thinking nationally about proactive measures to prevent any such abuses in the future. While we should still maintain “checks and balances” of many sorts, wouldn’t it be even better to have a system in which it was impossible for any one person, or even any small group of people, to abuse the powers of government in such ways.
Even before Bush and Cheney, there has been for a long time the assumption that politics and corruption in America go hand-in-hand. Why don’t we want to do something about that? I know that many people do want to change these things, including those pushing for campaign finance reform, and especially publicly financed elections, as well as the term limits movement not too long ago. Of course, there are also many who argue against both of these, so even incremental progress is an uphill battle.
So, with that, here are my most recent proposals:
Amendment A: Election of Representatives
Section 1: Apportionment and Election
Each state and the District of Columbia shall have a number of Federal Districts equal to its percentage of the national population multiplied by seventy-four (74), rounded to the nearest whole number, except that no state, nor the District of Columbia, may have less than one Federal District.
Each Federal District shall elect five Representatives according to a proportional, preferential voting method, such as Single Transferable Vote. Each Representative shall carry in the House one proxy vote for every ten thousand votes received in the election, but no Representative shall have less than one proxy vote.
Section 2: District Councils
Each District shall also be divided into five Divisions, and each Division shall elect five persons by a proportional, preferential voting method, such as Single Transferable Vote to serve on a District Council. The District Council shall conduct at least one public assembly in each of its Divisions each month, and shall act as liaison between the people of the District, and the District’s Congressional delegation. Furthermore, each member of the Congressional Delegation and of the District Council shall maintain a local office where residents may submit their concerns.
Section 3: Term of Office, Eligibility, Restrictions, and Limits
Each Representative shall be elected for a term of two years. Any adult citizen residing primarily in the District may run for a seat on the Congressional delegation, except that no person who is currently serving, or has served any elected or appointed government office in the two year period preceding the beginning of the term for which the election is being held shall be eligible. No person shall serve in such office for consecutive terms, nor more than two terms in any ten year period.
Each District Councilor shall be elected for a two year term concurrent with the Congressional term. Any adult citizen is eligible to serve as a member of a District Council who resides within the Division for which he/she is elected, and who has not served in any elected or appointed governmental position in the two year period preceding the commencement of the term. No person shall serve in such office for consecutive terms, nor more than two terms in any ten year period.
Section 4: Removal from Office
The elections for Representatives and Councilors shall be by open and recorded ballots. Those persons whose votes are awarded to a particular candidate shall be considered the direct constituents of that Representative or Councilor. If at least ten percent of the direct constituents of a Representative or Councilor shall petition for a recall, then a special Constituent Assembly shall be called. At this assembly, the official in question and any other who would stand for the office may present themselves and make a case for their election. When the debate is closed, the constituents shall vote by a preferential method such as Instant Runoff Vote.
Amendment B: Abolition of the Office of President and Creation of the Council of Executive Secretariats
(replacing Article II)
Section 1: Selection Process
Upon ratification of this amendment, Article II shall be stricken and replaced with the following:
The Executive power of the United States shall be divided among the several departments, and shall be under the control of, and accountable to, the people by direct action or by the actions of Congress.
Each department of the federal executive shall be directly governed by a Secretariat, composed of six members each, chosen in odd-numbered years by the House and Senate according to the following procedures:
Persons interested in serving in any federal executive Secretariat shall apply using a standardized application. The House shall appoint a panel of eleven persons who shall screen applications. Of those who apply, sixty shall be chosen by the panel for each departmental Secretariat. Then a public random lottery shall narrow each field to thirty. Those thirty applications shall then be reviewed by the House Committee responsible for oversight of the pertinent department, and that Committee shall narrow the field to twenty candidates. These candidates shall then be interviewed in public session by a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which shall elect six members to each Secretariat according to a proportional, preferential voting method, such as Single Transferable Vote. All applicants approved by the panel, but not selected to serve shall be considered Alternates in case of removal, resignation, death or any other inability to complete a term of office.
A standard for the salary of the members of the Secretariats shall be set at the beginning of each year by the Senate, but may not be increased above the previous year’s standard by more than the increase in the cost of living. The actual salary of the Secretariats for each calendar year shall be determined by the House at the end of that year, and may be as little as 75% of the standard set by the Senate or as much as 110%.
Section 2: Powers and Limitations of the Secretariats
Each Secretariat shall have power only over its specific department, and shall be subject to oversight by Congressional Committees of both Houses, and subject to recall by Congress or by the people.
Joint Committees made up of the members of two or more Secretariats may be formed by the House as needed, but shall be dissolved upon completion of its given mission.
All decisions involving the coordination of the executive branch as a whole shall be made by the Council of Secretariats, which shall consist of all members of the various executive Secretariats. All decisions of the Council of Secretariats are subject to the approval of the House and Senate Joint Executive Oversight Committee, except those actions which may qualify as emergencies, in which case, the Joint Executive Oversight Committee must approve or veto the decision within ten days, and if vetoed, the execution of the action(s) must be terminated, and the Council must establish a new course of action.
The members of the Secretariat of Defense shall rotate the duty of Commander-In-Chief each trimester (121 days and 18 hours), and no person may serve as Commander-In-Chief more than once. The Commander-in-Chief may only act without consulting the Secretariat of Defense in an emergency, and all actions so taken are subject to review by the Secretariat of Defense, the Defense Oversight Committees of the House and Senate, and the Joint Executive Oversight Committee.
No person may serve consecutive terms in the Council of Secretariats, nor more than one term in the Secretariat of Defense.
Section 3: Removal from Office
The Representatives and Senators whose votes were counted for any Secretariat Councilor shall be considered a direct supervisor of that Secretariat Councilor. A majority of the direct supervisors of any Secretariat Councilor in either house may call for a session of all the direct supervisors for that Councilor. The Joint Executive Oversight Committee, and the departmental Oversight Committees of the House and Senate may also request a joint session of the direct supervisors for any Councilor under their jurisdiction. Upon a vote of a majority of that body, the Councilor shall be removed from office, and the direct supervisors may choose a replacement from the field of Alternates, or may elect to leave the seat vacant for the remainder of the term.
Upon a submission of a petition to the House of Representatives of no less than five percent of the registered voters of each state, and no less than ten percent of the registered voters of the nation indicating a desire to recall all the members of any Secretariat, a general election shall be scheduled by the House not less than thirty nor more than sixty days after the presentation of the petition to the House. Upon a majority in favor of recall, the House shall appoint interim Councilors from the field of Alternates for that Secretariat. If there shall be more than 180 days remaining in the term, the House shall accept applications for thirty days for a new Secretariat, and appoint a new panel for reviewing these. After thirty days, no more applications will be accepted, and the panel shall have ten days to narrow the field for the lottery. Thereafter, the House Oversight Committee for that Secretariat shall have thirty days to narrow the field for the election, which shall be held within seven days of the Committee’s selection.
