People's Amendment - Peoples Amendment

THE PEOPLE'S AMENDMENT

PREAMBLE

We the People of the United States do hereby establish this People’s Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

By this amendment, the Government of the United States shall serve only the people and the environment and have the authority to act, regulate, or legislate only for the security, safety, and welfare thereof, not to benefit itself, corporations, elected representatives, or the military.

By this People’s Amendment, the Government of the United States shall be empowered to act if and only if the action:

Is necessary.
Is morally right.
Benefits the health, security, and welfare of the people.
Preserves the environment and conserves natural resources.
Places the interests of the people and the environment ahead of those of corporations, elected representatives, the government, or military.

SECTION l: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

A. The Executive Branch.
The Executive Branch shall uphold the Constitution, laws of the United States, and international law in times of peace, in times of war, or during a national emergency, and shall respect the Separation of Powers contained in the Constitution. The Executive Branch shall not surreptitiously, through signing statements, Executive Orders, or other directives, enhance the powers of the Executive Branch.

1. The Executive Branch shall uphold the Constitution, laws of the United States, and international law in times of peace, in times of war, or during a national emergency and shall respect the Separation of Powers contained in the Constitution.

2. The Executive Branch shall not surreptitiously, through signing statements, Executive Orders, or other directives, enhance the powers of the Executive Branch.

3. The Executive Branch shall not escape oversight of Congress or the people of the United States.

4. Laws or bills that have increased presidential powers or eliminated oversight of the Executive Branch as contained in the Constitution shall be abolished.

5. The President of the United States shall uphold and follow the letter and intent of the Constitution of the United States and all U.S. laws in times of peace, war, or national emergency.

6. The President shall uphold the international law set forth in the Geneva Conventions. The president shall not authorize the torture of prisoners held by the U.S., whether such prisoners are foreign terrorists or U.S. citizens.

7. Signing statements by the President intended to circumvent or subvert the letter or intent of the law signed shall be illegal and subject the President to removal from office.

8. All Presidential papers shall become public immediately at the end of the President's term.

9. A President, Vice President, or Executive Branch staff member will be subject to prosecution for criminal acts performed in office, with no possibility of a presidential pardon.

B. The Legislative Branch
The U.S. Congress shall give priority to laws and actions that benefit the people of the United States and create transparency in their decisions regarding the laws governing the United States.

1. Elected representatives shall not receive free medical coverage or other benefits until a National Health Care System is in place.

2. There shall be no "earmarks."

3. There shall be no riders to bills. All bills must concern one subject only.

C. The Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch of the government shall answer to the People of the United States.

1. The terms of Justices, including the Supreme Court Chief Justice, on the Supreme Court shall be limited to two seven-year terms.

D. Economics
The federal government shall balance the budget. The federal government shall control inflation by returning the U.S. dollar to the gold standard and returning to a Constitutional monetary system. The federal government shall take steps to stop U.S. jobs from being exported overseas. The government and federal agencies shall buy only American products.

1. The federal government shall not spend more than it takes in.

2. The federal government shall close the income gap between the poor and middle class, and the wealthy by altering the tax structure so that the poor and middle class are taxed proportionately less.

3. The federal government shall act to reduce and eliminate inflation in the U.S. economy.

4. The federal government shall return to the gold standard.

5. The Federal Reserve Bank shall restrict the creation of dollars to inhibit inflation.

6. Larger denominations of currency, such as $500 and $1000 bills, shall be returned to circulation. The penny shall be eliminated.

7. The federal government shall provide negative incentives for any company that seeks to ship U.S. jobs overseas. The government shall reestablish tariffs on all goods imported into the United States. An additional 10 percent tax shall be imposed on goods from American corporations that have outsourced manufacturing jobs from the United States to other countries in the last 10 years.

8. Federal, state, and local governments and the military shall not buy any foreign product if an American-made equivalent is available.

9. No branch of government, including regulatory agencies and the military, shall pay more than market value for goods or services.

10. Government accounting methods must meet the same standards as mandated for publicly traded corporations.

E. Military
Military spending shall be reduced.

1. The budget for military spending and the Pentagon shall be immediately reduced to 25 percent of the federal budget and shall be further reduced by one percent per year until it reaches 15 percent of the federal budget.

2. Reservists shall not be subject to multiple call-ups for service.

3. Posse Comitatus shall be restored.

F. Foreign Relations
The United States shall peacefully promote democracy in the world and establish peaceful relations with other countries. While establishing good rapport with other countries, the government shall not engage in treaties that result in the loss of American jobs.

1. The United States shall not invade or attack other countries unless attacked first.

2. The U.S. military and all government agencies are prohibited from entering a foreign nation for the purpose of stopping drugs.

3. There shall be no free trade agreements.

4. The federal government shall comply with all of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions.

G. Privatization
Private corporations, domestic or foreign, shall not be allowed to take over the duties of U.S. agencies.

1. No branch of government, including the U.S. military, or regulatory or administrative bodies or agencies or part thereof, deemed responsible for the common good of the people of the United States shall be allowed to be privatized.

2. No public infrastructure shall be allowed to be sold to any private party or corporate interest. All such sales that have taken place in the last ten years shall revert to public ownership at the original price.

3. Government programs funded by taxpayer dollars shall not be administered by private, for-profit corporations.

H. Taxes
The Tax Code shall be transparent to the general public and assist in helping to close the income gap between the very rich and very poor. Corporations that use public resources from The Commons shall be taxed for the use of public resources.

1. The tax code shall be simplified and readable.

2. Corporations that benefit from The Commons shall be taxed on the use of The Commons. Such taxes will be used to pay for a national health care system and for the protection and restoration of the environment.

3. Tax codes shall be altered so that there shall be no state, federal, or local taxes imposed on commodities necessary for survival, including food and energy.

4. Social Security income shall not be taxed.

5. The federal government shall help close the income gap between the poor and middle class and the wealthy by altering the tax structure so that proportionately less is spent on taxes by the poor and middle class.

6. Federal and state inheritance taxes shall be repealed. Corporate taxes shall be increased to cover the loss of same.

7. The Internal Revenue Service shall not audit anyone with a gross income of $50,000 or less.

8. The Internal Revenue Service shall give its highest auditing priority to large corporations.

9. Corporate taxation shall account for a minimum of 40 percent of Internal Revenue Service income.

10. Inflation must be taken into account on the sale of any real or depreciable asset to compute capital losses as well as capital gains.

11. Any and all medical expenses, including so-called "alternative treatments," shall be tax deductible, regardless of income bracket.

12. Any state that collects a state income tax shall do so as a percentage of the federal return and shall not require a separate return with different rules or exemptions.

14. The threshold for the Alternative Minimum Tax shall be adjusted annually for inflation, using the date of inception as a baseline.

15. No private debt agency or other corporate entity shall be allowed to collect taxes in the United States.

I. The Food and Drug Adminstration and Environmental Protection Agency
The FDA and EPA shall represent consumers not industry. Alternative and natural substances shall be tested for safety and toxicity.

1. The FDA's mission shall be altered to encourage a non-pharmaceutical approach to medicine. Prevention of disease and safety and toxicity of food and drug products shall be its primary focus.

2. The FDA shall test pharmaceuticals for efficacy, toxicity, and safety and shall test all natural substances and non-pharmaceutical products for toxicity and safety only. To determine toxicity and safety of a product, the FDA shall rely solely on the outcome of independent studies and not studies done by or paid for by the manufacturer or associated industry.

3. The FDA or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall conduct research to determine whether any drug or product, including those made using nanotechnology, is safe for human and domestic animal consumption, nontoxic, nonpolluting, and does not harm the environment or wild species. Any drug or product found to be harmful shall not be allowed to be produced, sold, or given away in the United States or exported to another country.

4. The FDA or the EPA shall test all existing manufactured products and chemicals used externally or internally for toxicity and harm to the public, environment, or wild species. None of these products shall be tested on live animals. Any product found to be harmful shall not be allowed to be produced, sold, or given away in the United States or exported to another country.

5. The FDA shall not approve for distribution, sale, or marketing any product found to be toxic or unsafe.

6. The FDA shall test the toxicity of food, cosmetics, perfumes, and toiletries within 90 days of submission.

7. The FDA and other federal agencies shall be prohibited from regulating or exercising jurisdiction over products which are nontoxic or devices which are harmless. The FDA and other federal agencies shall be prohibited from pressing criminal charges against anyone for dispensing or using products that are nontoxic or harmless and are prohibited from confiscating products that are nontoxic or harmless.

8. The FDA shall have no jurisdiction over interstate commerce.

J. Social Security
The Social Security fund shall be protected in perpetuity.

1. Social Security shall not be privatized.

2. The legislature shall be forbidden from enacting any budgetary or other legislation that will take funds from Social Security for purposes other than those for which Social Security was intended.

3. If additional monies are needed for Social Security, they shall be provided by the federal government or additional corporate taxation.

SECTION ll: ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT

A. Representatives
Elected or appointed government representatives shall act on behalf of the interests of the American public and the environment and not for themselves, corporations, or the government. Lobbying in any form shall be illegal. Government whistleblowers shall be protected.

1. An elected or appointed government representative who protects or promotes corporate or political interests over that of U.S. citizens shall be charged with a felony.

2. An elected or appointed government representative, who delays or blocks an investigation into the representative's activities or records, shall immediately be removed from office pending completion of the investigation.

3. An elected or appointed representative who knowingly breaks the law may be subject to personal lawsuits by citizens of the United States.

4. Absent a ban on lobbying, no former president or vice president shall be allowed to work as a lobbyist or for a company that engages in lobbying or use his special office to unduly influence legislation.

5. Absent a ban on lobbying, no former senator or representative shall be allowed to work as or for a lobbyist or to seek to influence the workings of the federal government for a period of 12 years after leaving office.

6. Elected and appointed representatives of the United States, including the President and Vice President, shall be forbidden from accepting gifts or money.

7. Any confidentiality agreement between a U.S. citizen and the government or a corporation shall be voided if the contract conflicts with the health, welfare, and well-being of the public or the environment.

8. Whistleblowers shall be protected from losing their jobs, lawsuits, criminal charges, and other negative consequences of their actions in disclosing governmental or corporate wrong-doing.

B. Federal Agencies
The federal government and its representatives, bureaus and agencies shall act and set forth regulations on behalf of the American public and not for the convenience of industry or themselves. The federal government and its agencies shall restore transparency to their decision-making. There shall be no revolving doors between federal agencies and the industries they regulate.

1. No federal agency shall be so self-contained that its rulings cannot be outweighed by congressional action or a vote of the American people.

2. The federal government and its representatives, bureaus, agencies, and officials shall restore full transparency to their decision-making. The federal government will inform the public of the background and reasoning for regulations promulgated by its staff.

3. There shall be no revolving doors between regulatory agencies and the industries they regulate. No federal agency shall allow present or former employees or representatives from the industry it regulates to sit on any of the agency's committees or advisory panels.

4. Employees of any regulatory agency are prohibited from working for the regulated industry for a period of ten years after leaving the agency.

5. Federal agencies shall be prohibited from hiring employees or consultants that have worked for or have been paid by the regulated industry in the previous ten years.

6. Government contracts shall not bilk taxpayers and shall be put out for competitive bid.

7. The government shall not experiment on people for any reason. The government shall not experiment for medical research, to test for toxicity, or to establish the vulnerability of individuals. This ban includes the use of bioweapons, microwaves, mind control, or radiology.

SECTION III: ELECTIONS

A. Voting
Voting shall be a right and be secure, accessible, private, and mandatory for every U.S. citizen. Citizens shall be allowed to monitor elections. Electronic voting shall be abolished and replaced with hand-counted, paper-only ballots, or punch cards. The Electoral College shall be eliminated. An Instant Run-off Voting System shall be instituted.

1. Every U.S. citizen shall have the right to vote. Citizens who are in prison will not lose their right to vote but may temporarily lose access to voting.

2. Voting shall be mandatory. Every U.S. Citizen has an obligation to vote. A U.S. citizen who does not vote in an election shall be fined $25. Funds collected from such fines shall be applied towards campaign financing.

3. Exit polling shall be mandated in every election with an automatic recount if there is a two-percent discrepancy from official results. Exit poll results shall be withheld until all polling stations are closed.

4. U.S. citizens shall be allowed to monitor elections. Citizens shall be given access to election records, including but not limited to the right to view ballot counting. Access to records must be made in a timely manner, before elections are certified and shall be free to the public. (partial credit: BlackBoxVoting.org.)

5. Identification shall not be required for an election. Equal and nondiscriminatory access to voting shall be assured for all voters.

6. Voting shall be private. There shall be no chance that others will ascertain how a citizen has voted. Bar codes on mail-in ballots shall be prohibited because they may expose a citizen's voting choices to polling officials or others.

7. To increase voter turnout, Election Day in any county, state, or federal election shall be a holiday.

8. No person or entity shall be allowed to interfere with, stop, or intimidate a registered voter from casting a ballot. Anyone found guilty of intimidating voters, interfering with an election, or tampering with votes shall be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years in prison.

9. A national party, the members of which are convicted of tampering with elections, intimidating voters, or obstructing voting, shall lose all the votes in the county of occurrence. If tampering occurs statewide, the party will be forbidden from soliciting votes in the state in the next similar election.

10. The President, Vice President, and every appointee of the President, including Supreme Court Justices, shall be immediately removed from their positions, if it is found the President, Vice President, or members of their party committed fraud in the election of the President.

11. All ballots for city, county, state, or federal elections must be preserved and available for recount for a period of five years.

12. Private companies shall not manage or operate elections, vote counts, or election information. (An alternative: If election information is handled by a private company, the company shall be subject to the same Freedom of Information Act requirements of public agencies and to citizen oversight and monitoring of election records and ballot counting. Such a private company shall be prohibited from doing business in the United States if it is found that an officer, director, employee, or representative of the company is convicted of vote tampering.)

13. The Electoral College shall be eliminated to give the proper one-person, one-vote representation for presidential elections.

14. The U.S. Elections Assistance Commission shall be eliminated.

15. City, county, state, and federal elections shall incorporate an Instant Runoff Election system if one candidate does not get more than 50 percent of the vote. (credit: fairvote)

16. Voters shall be allowed to express their dissatisfaction with a slate of candidates or choices. "None of the Above" shall appear on ballots that do not require a simple "Yes" or "No" vote. These votes shall be tallied. (Credit: Joel S. Hirschhorn)

B. Campaigns
Campaigns for elected offices shall be publicly funded. Candidates shall receive no financial assistance from any other source.

1. Financing for elections for the President and Vice President shall come from the U.S. treasury. Financing for U.S. Congressional campaigns shall come from the treasury of the state in which the candidate resides. States, counties, and cities shall mandate public financing for those running for elected office. Public monies shall be divided equally among all qualified candidates.

2. Money or support shall not be allowed to be contributed to any political campaign. Political action committees, corporations, and lobbyists - absent a ban on lobbying - shall be banned from giving money, seed money, soft money, or in-kind contributions to a qualified candidate or campaign on an election issue. Section 527 organizations shall be banned from giving money to, working on behalf of, supporting, or working against a qualified candidate. U.S. citizens may make a maximum contribution of $50 in seed money to a candidate or to a campaign for an election issue.

3. A qualified candidate for President must collect 100,000 signatures to run for office. A qualified candidate for any other office is a citizen who can raise a to-be-determined threshold amount of seed money or signatures on a petition.

4. Television and radio stations shall give free and equal campaign air time to all qualified candidates.

5. The nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates, controlled by the Democrats and Republicans, shall be replaced. The federal government shall establish a commission on debates comprised of all qualified parties. Qualified parties are those that have more than 100,000 voting members in the United States.

SECTION lV. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

A. Denial of Constitutional Freedoms
The people of the United States shall have all the rights declared under the Constitution and its Amendments, whether in peace, in time of war, or during a national emergency.

1. Any constitutional right or freedom lost through legislation, presidential order or directive, shall immediately be restored.

2. A denial of constitutional freedoms shall be a federal felony, whether such denial stems from Executive Order of the President, actions of the U.S. Congress, or an officer of the law.

B. First Amendment
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is here reiterated.

1. Freedom of Speech is a constitutional right and no one shall be arrested for expressing a point of view. Free speech shall be guaranteed, notably in any place where the public is allowed to enter.

2. "Free-speech zones" intended to stifle dissent of government policies or actions shall be declared unlawful.

3. No one shall be arrested or put on "no-fly" lists for speaking out against the government or disagreeing with or participating in protests against the President, Vice President, or elected representatives of the United States or their policies. No-fly lists shall cease to exist.

4. Protestors shall not be identified, profiled, scanned with facial recognition software, listed in databases, detained, or attacked for exercising a Constitutional right of free speech and peaceful assembly.

C. Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is here reiterated.

1. U.S. citizens shall be guaranteed the right to privacy.

2. There shall be no warrantless searches or electronic surveillance of people's homes, property, communications, computers, or medical or financial records. U.S. citizens shall be secure in their financial, banking, personal, legal, physical, mental, medical, and Internet activity.

3. Citizens of the United States shall have a right to privacy, as implied in the Fourth Amendment.

4. The government, corporations, or agents thereof shall not spy on nor accumulate data on a U.S. citizen, absent a current warrant. All data accumulated in violation of Fourth Amendment and privacy rights shall be destroyed.

5. There shall be no sharing of personal data for any American citizen by the government, corporations, or other entity unless a citizen deliberately chooses to allow personal data to be shared.

6. No government agency shall monitor financial transactions in any amount absent a current warrant.

7. Internet privacy shall be inviolate.

8. "No-knock" practices by police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall be banned, absent a current warrant.

9. U.S. citizens shall not be mandated to carry a national identity card, with or without electronic chips. Microchips shall not be implanted in the body of any U.S. citizen for any reason.

D. Unconstitutional Legislation and Presidential Orders and Directives
Legislation or Executive Orders infringing on constitutional rights shall be revoked.

1. The Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, the 2007 National Security Presidential Directive 51, and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 shall be revoked.

2. Any Constitutional right or freedom taken away by the PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act, or other legislation or presidential order or directive shall be immediately restored.

E. Fifth Amendment
The Fifth Amendment of the United States is here reiterated.

1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

2. There shall be no confiscation of assets without a trial and conviction.

F. Eminent Domain

1. Property taken by eminent domain shall be used only for public infrastructure and not in support of commercial or private development.

2. Federal, state, and local governments are prohibited from using eminent domain, expropriation, or condemnation to take private property away from a landowner to give to another person, entity, or corporation without the landowner's consent.

G. Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment is here reiterated.

1. Cruel and unusual punishment shall be prohibited.

2. No person, whether a U.S. citizen, foreign national or enemy combatant, shall be subject to excessive punishment or torture, which is here defined as punishment.

3. Capital punishment shall be prohibited, as it is excessive punishment.

H. Habeas Corpus
The right to Habeas Corpus shall be enjoyed by all Americans, as well as enemy combatants.

1. The right to Habeas Corpus under Section 9, Article I of the U.S. Constitution shall be guaranteed for every U.S. citizen and foreign combatant.

I. Citizens' Right to Enact and Veto Legislation
Citizens shall have the right to enact and veto legislation.

1. Citizens shall have the right to veto legislation that has been signed into law and the right to enact legislation. Citizens shall enact this right by first petitioning then voting on the action or legislation.

J. Citizens' Right to Recall President and Vice President
Citizens shall have the right to recall the president and vice president.

1. Citizens shall have the right to recall and remove the President or Vice President from office by a 60-percent majority of voters. If the President or Vice President is removed, a president shall be appointed according to the articles of succession contained in the U.S. Constitution.

K. Citizens' Right to Recall Representatives
Citizens shall have the right to recall their elected representatives.

1. U.S. citizens shall have the right to recall and remove their elected representatives. In any election, voters shall have the opportunity to recall their elected representative by a 60-percent majority of voters. If the elected representative is removed from office with a 60-percent majority vote, then the appropriate state legislature may appoint a replacement until an election can be held.

L. Citizens' Right to Recall Appointed Officials
Citizens shall have the right to recall appointed officials.

1. U.S. citizens shall have the right to remove any federally appointed official by a 60-percent majority of voters, including members of the Cabinet, heads of federal agencies, U.S. Supreme Court Justices, or U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice.

M. Corporations shall not possess constitutional rights.

1. Corporate entities shall no longer be granted constitutional rights possessed by U.S. citizens.

SECTION V: RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENS

A. Laws
U.S. citizens shall not be prosecuted for victimless crimes.

1. There shall be no prosecution of victimless crimes. This shall include but not be limited to the use and sale of marijuana. There shall be an immediate pardon and release of those in prison for such offenses. This amendment shall not apply to traffic violations, including drunk driving.

2. Marijuana shall be legalized and the war on soft drugs shall cease immediately.

3. Fines for misdemeanor violations shall be minimal and amount to no more than a slap on the wrist.