What's the Price Tag of Article V?
Everything government does has a price tag. Organizing a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution is no different. Shouldn't taxpayers and policy makers know what that price tag is? We think so. That's why we just published Compact for America Educational Foundation Policy Brief No. 6, "Estimating the Cost of an Article V Convention." After an exhaustive study of fifteen state constitutional conventions held during the 1960s and 70s, we have concluded tha
Article V Meet the Tenth Amendment
Some folks think the Tenth Amendment has nothing to do with proposing amendments to the Constitution by Article V convention. They're wrong. How do we know? Because the Founders said so. The Founders emphasized over and over again that the States as stateswould have equal authority to propose amendments as Congress. Only applying Tenth Amendment principles to the Article V convention process guarantees that this was not just pillow talk. And the good news is that no Supreme C
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
What an amazing year! Four states (AK, GA, MS, ND) have joined the Balanced Budget Compact. Chambers in six more states (AL, AR, AZ, MO, MI, WY) passed the same legislation. Nineteen congressmen are moving the congressional resolution forward. The first interstate agency to advance a federal Balanced Budget Amendment from the states now exists. And as you can see at our video/photo gallery (password: ARWWK), our “A Republic We WILL Keep” year-end event with the Navy SEAL Foun
Compact for America at Heartland Institute's Constitutional Reform Center
The Heartland Institute launched its “Constitutional Reform” project at the Marriott City Center in Dallas on Wednesday, August 26. Featured speakers included Nick Dranias of Compact for America Educational Foundation, former U.S. Rep. Allen West (R ) and former U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, as well as constitutional scholars and advocates of a number of constitutional amendment projects, and Heartland’s CEO Joseph Bast. The event marked the beginning of Heartland’s effort to help
Six Bullets that Could Fix the Debt
No, it's not what you're thinking. The Compact Commission challenged me to create 6 bullet points that capture the benefits of the Compact for a Balanced Budget's compact “vehicle” for delivering its federal Balanced Budget Amendment “payload.” So here goes! Three bullets on the compact “vehicle”: Certainty: The Compact for a Balanced Budget delivers certainty by empowering the states to pre-commit 38 states and simple majorities of Congress to everything involved in advancin
What Good is Another Parchment Barrier?
Those who oppose states using their power to originate amendments under Article V often start with the question, “Why amend the Constitution when nobody follows the Constitution as written?” This question is flawed in two respects. First, it overstates the degree to which the Constitution is not followed. The truth of the matter is that much of the substance of the Bill of Rights retains its force, especially the First and Second Amendments in recent years. In non-national se
Democrats Support Balanced Budget Amendments Too!
Former U.S. Senators Paul Simon and Paul Tsongas are not outliers in the Democratic Party for supporting a federal Balanced Budget Amendment. There are many democrats who have taken the same stand: SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): “Before I ask for your vote, I owe it to you to tell you where I stand. I’m for… a balanced budget amendment.” (Rep. Brown, “Where I Stand,” YouTube, 11/1/06) SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-AK): “It’s time to stop playing political brinksmanship with the budget and
Safety: The Second of Four Unique Compact Features
The differences between the Compact approach to Article V and the “legacy” approaches to Article V can be captured in four categories: 1) Certainty; 2) Safety; 3) Synergy; and 4) Speed. As you will see, the Compact approach is truly “Article V 2.0.” Today’s topic is… Safety Unlike the legacy approach, the Compact approach recognizes that it is not necessarily unreasonable to be uncomfortable with relying upon the ratification hurdle as the sole safeguard against rogue amendme
Exploding Propaganda Series (Part 6 of 7): Section 5's Tax Limit
The Compact for a Balanced Budget advances a specific Balanced Budget Amendment that you can read today, and which four states have already contractually committed to ratify. Read it here. Section 5 of the Compact's Balanced Budget Amendment imposes a default rule of requiring two-thirds of each House of Congress to pass any new or increased income or sales tax (including a VAT). It expressly or implicitly excepts from this default rule: 1) revenue increases from a new consum
C4A Live Episode 13: FEE's Lawrence Reed on the Lessons of Rome
CFAEF President Nick Dranias interviews Larry Reed, President of the Foundation for Economic Education and CFAEF Board Member, on the parallels between our fiscal path and the Roman Republic, the the hope that the Compact for America initiative inspires. Lawrence Reed, MA, PhD President - Foundation for Economic Education Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed became president of FEE in 2008, after serving as chairman of its board of trustees in the 1990s and both writing and speaking fo
