PRESS & POLICY KIT | compact-for-america

Compact for America Press and Policy Kit

Only the Compact for America Initiative makes it possible to propose and ratify a powerful federal Balanced Budget Amendment with the passage of one bill by 38 states and one resolution by a simple majority of Congress. Learn how and why here.

WHO TO CALL OR EMAIL

Former Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, Chairman of the Compact for a Balanced Budget Commission, is focused on motivating state and congressional leadership to get behind the Compact approach as the safest, most certain and speediest way fix the national debt. Email Commissioner Treadwell with questions about why the Compact approach is the best path forward.

Georgia Representative Paulette Rakestraw, Vice Chair of the Compact for a Balanced Budget Commission, helped found the historic first interstate agency with the mission of uniting the states to fix the national debt. Email or call (770-294-1039) Chair Rakestraw with questions about how the states are tackling the number one threat facing the nation.

Mississippi Speaker Pro Tem Greg Snowden, Mississippi Commissioner for the Compact for a Balanced Budget Commission, is available for questions about his state's leadership in fighting for fixing the federal debt. Feel free to email him.

The Essence of the Initiative

Six Bullet Points: The Balanced Budget Compact in a nutshell.

Balanced Budget Amendment: One Page Explanation of the powerful federal Balanced Budget Amendment at the heart of the Compact for a Balanced Budget.

Compact for a Balanced Budget: One Page Explanation of the Compact approach to originating Amendments from the States.

Safeguards: Two page listing of safeguards built into the Compact to ensure the convention it organizes stays on target.

Balanced Budget Amendment Policy Brief: A short policy analysis booklet containing a more detailed sectional analysis of the Compact's Balanced Budget Amendment.

Why Your State Should Compact for a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment: A short policy brief that explains how the Compact Approach provides certainty, safety, synergy and speed when using an Article V convention to propose one or more specific amendments.

How Congress Can Partner with the States on a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment: A short policy brief that explains Congress' role in activating the Compact for a Balanced Budget.

Article V 2.0: The Compact for a Balanced Budget: An extensive policy brief that comprehensively lays out the law and policy behind the Balanced Budget Compact.

Rooted in the Tenth Amendment: The Article V Convention: A shorter policy brief that examines the relationship between the reserved powers of state sovereignty and Article V's "convention of states."

The Elephant in the Room: The Congressional Obstacle to the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force's Effort to Achieve a Convention Call: A comprehensive examination of the Article V applying resolutions supporting the Balanced Budget Amendment effort from the 1970s and 1980s, which concludes that most of the resolutions cannot be counted unless the intentions of the applying states are disregarded.

Estimating the Cost of an Article V Convention: This policy brief reveals that the price tag of a Compact-organized convention, such as the Compact for a Balanced Budget, is one-fiftieth or less of the price tag of a legacy topic-limited or defacto unlimited Article V convention, such as the conventions sought by the BBA Task Force and Convention of States.

A Guidebook for Deploying Article V as the Founders Actually Intended: The Application & Convention Mode of Proposing Amendments: This policy brief reveals that the meaning of Article V is straightforward and clear: states petition for one or more amendments to be proposed by convention; Congress must call the convention in accordance with the states' petition; and the convention's authority is limited to the requests made in the petition.

"Article V 2.0" in a Nutshell: The Balanced Budget Compact: This short policy brief gives the reader an incredibly quick overview of the Compact for America approach to advancing and ratifying a federal Balanced Budget Amendment and why it is effective and constitutional.

FAQ Series: Doesn't the Article V Convention Draft the Amendment? This policy brief furnishes the best evidence as to why the Founders meant for the states to use their Article V application to specify any desired amendment to be proposed by convention.

Clearly Constitutional: The Article V Compact - Vindicating the Principle of State Sovereignty Against Natelson's Attack. This policy brief jointly authored by Drs. John Eastman and Kevin Gutzman, Judge Harold DeMoss, Jr., Nick Dranias, Ilya Shapiro, and Mississippi Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden offers a complete rebuttal of retired law professor Robert Natelson's attack on the Compact approach to Article V and his repudiation of the principle of state sovereignty in the state-initiated amendment process.

Converging on the Core Solution; Diverging on Efficacy: Comparing the Balanced Budget Compact's State-of-the-Art Balanced Budget Amendment Against Natelson's Discussion Piece. This policy brief authored by economist Dr. Byron Schlomach commends retired law professor Robert Natelson's effort to draft a discussion piece amendment that adopts the core policy solution of state approval over any increase in the federal debt. Dr. Schlomach also explains where the Balanced Budget Compact's amendment improves on Natelson's draft proposal.

The Non-Partisan Solution to the Civil Rights Issue of Our Age: The Compact For America Balanced Budget Amendment. This policy report jointly authored by Nick Dranias and Chip DeMoss explains why the federal Balanced Budget Amendment advanced by the Balanced Budget Compact remedies the civil rights issue of our age: protecting our kids and future generations from a total loss of self-governance as a result of our runaway national debt.

A Logical Extension of Congressional Tradition: Using a Concurrent Resolution to Partner with the States on an Article V Compact. This policy report jointly authored by Nick Dranias, Judge DeMoss, Rick Masters, Ilya Shapiro, Dr. Kevin Gutzman and Dr. John Eastman explains why Congress's opportunity to partner with the states on advancing the Balanced Budget Compact is presented in a perfectly legitimate traditional vehicle: the concurrent resolution.

Legislative Package: The full set of model legislation.

What the People Want!
- McLaughlin & Associates National Poll (Executive Summary/Full Data)
- West Third Group Alabama Poll
- West Third Group Michigan Poll
- West Third Group North Carolina Poll
- West Third Group Ohio Poll
- West Third Group Texas Poll