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PROPOSED AMENDMENT :
DISASSEMBLING THE REPRESENTATIVES Section
1 The office and duties of
Representative, described in Article 1, Section 2, shall be modified to permit their fulfillment by persons who
remain within the several congressional districts. Except for ceremonial purposes, no House or
other assembly of Representatives will exist. Section 2 Representatives will serve as communications links between the
Public and the Government of the
United States. To that end, the ratio
of population to Representatives shall
not exceed one hundred thousand. And,
an office well equipped with communicating devices shall be maintained in
each congressional district. Section 3 The legislative powers of Representatives shall include the
power of a majority of all Representatives to enact proposals submitted to
them by either a majority of the Senate or the President of the United
States. In case either the Senate or
the President has not approved the measure so enacted, it shall be forwarded
to that branch for action. If the
Senate or the President should reject the measure, it will, again, be voted upon
by the Representatives, a majority of whom may, by their affirmative votes,
make it law. The
President of the United States and two-thirds of Senators shall have the
power to enact legislation which may take effect after 60 days. If, within those 60 days, thirty percent of
Representatives demand to vote upon them, such measures shall not take effect
unless approved by a majority of Representatives. Representatives
may propose, and a petition by thirty percent of Representatives may initiate
action upon, legislation. Section 4 To facilitate the above processes, an Office of Representation
shall be established at the seat of the Government. The Office of Representation shall receive
and dispense information between the Representatives and other branches of
the Government. Such information shall
include all votes and petitions of the Representatives, and all legislative
or other business of Senate and President to which the assent of the
Representatives may be necessary.
Additional communications and information, supporting and opposing the
above, may be gathered and dispensed through this channel. The
Office of Representation shall be headed by an eleven-member Representation
Board, of whom two each shall be selected and serve at the pleasure of the
President and the Senate. Seven shall
be selected by lot from among Representatives whom have completed at least
one term in that office; their service shall be for brief overlapping terms.
The
Representation Board shall select and advise a Director of Representation,
subject to confirmation by a majority of Representatives. The Director may be suspended from his
duties and a temporary replacement may be designated, by a majority of the
Board. Removal of the Director will become effective upon the approval of a
replacement by a majority of Representatives. Section 5 The
elections of Representatives shall take place prior to the elections of
President, Vice President, and Senators.
Qualifications as candidates in the general elections for President
and Vice President, or for Senator, shall be established by securing the
signature of at least twenty percent of Representatives, in the United States
or in particular states, on petitions of candidacy. For this purpose, Representatives may support
only one candidate per office per election. Section 6 Except
as noted above, it is not the intent of this Amendment to alter the office,
powers, or manner of choosing Representatives. Detailed procedures for initiating tax
measures, bringing impeachment charges, and for exercising other powers of
the Representatives may be provided by law.
The apportionment of Representatives shall be determined as provided
in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3, of the Constitution of the United States,
amended. Additional provisions for the
organization and disciplining of Representatives are to be initiated by that
branch alone. Section 7
Amendment 17 shall be altered to provide that the Senate of the United States
shall be composed of three Senators for each state. Section 8 The
provision of Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2 regarding presidential
appointments “by and with the advise and consent of the Senate” shall be
altered to allow that, in cases where the Senate fails to either confirm or
reject within sixty days of the submission, a commission may be issued at the
discretion of the President alone.
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DISASSEMBLE THE HOUSE By Ivan W.
Parkins One concern of
those who drafted the Constitution of the United States was that
representatives should not have such small constituencies that the office
would fail to attract able candidates.
Even so, Chairman of the Convention, George Washington, called for a
minimum constituency of 30,000 instead of the already approved 40,000. This was his only suggestion regarding
details of the Constitution and it was adopted. THE FEDERALIST, No. 51 states
that “dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the
government.” No. 52 adds “… it is particularly essential that ..” the representative “… have an immediate dependence on
and an intimate sympathy with the people.” Now, with the congressional
districts having average populations of about
690,000, and with only 524,160 minutes in a year, we face a very
different situation. All
Representatives, whatever their origins, become members of the upper class by
virtue of their salaries and perks alone.
The long sessions and
increasing details of their involvement in nearly all matters of
government, keep their minds and bodies within the confines of the “Beltway”
most of the time. National journalists,
pollsters, lobbyists, and congressional staff members, along with legislative
“earmarks,” get them reelected.
Meanwhile, it is literally impossible for them to allot one minute of
their time per year to each constituent.
Our representatives should be
much more numerous; they should spend most of their working time in their
districts; and they should have infrequent, but authoritative votes on major
public issues. In order to add that to
the Constitution, I suggest the following: |
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DISASSEMBLE THE HOUSE . |
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©Ivan W. Parkins 2010, All articles, text, web pages property of
Ivan W. Parkins. Use of any material
requires permission of the author
and can be obtained by contacting,
info@americanpoliticalcommentary.com |