COS/Article V Amendment Proposals from Oren Long Part 1

[M]

Author Oren Long

Part 1;

The following is neither sanctioned by nor proposed by the Article V Convention of States Project.   Rather, it is entirely my work as a volunteer and District Captain for the Convention of States Project.   It is included to give you an overview of what to expect from an Article V Convention of States Convention.

The entire thrust of an Article V Convention of States is to consider and draft amendments designed to limit the size, scope, power, reach, and authority of the Federal Government and bring it back under the confines of those powers granted to it in the Constitution.

These are strictly my personal ideas and in no way purport to speak for the Convention of States Project.   I understand that, if introduced into Convention, they would be altered or improved as needed.   They are intended solely to stimulate discussion and debate.   Following each of my proposed amendments is an explanation of my thinking.   They are as follows:

 

 

 

NUMBER ONE:

The Fourteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States are hereby repealed.   All Federal Laws, Agencies, Programs, Rules, Regulations, and/or Orders created, passed, or handed down as a direct or indirect result of the Fourteenth, Sixteenth, and/or Seventeenth Amendments are hereby stricken from Law, declared null and void, and without force of effect.

 

EXPLANATION:   Some say that past laws, rulings, etc. cannot be undone in one stroke under the “no ex post facto law” clause of the Constitution.   I beg to differ.   The “no ex post facto” clause deals with LAWS, not the Constitution.   The Constitution can do whatever three fourths of the States want it to do.

Others say that repealing all past laws, rulings, etc. would be too disruptive and possibly create chaos.   But, repealing the 14^th, 16th, and 17^th Amendments will do that, anyway.   We are talking about [legal] major surgery.   An Article V Convention of States may be the ONLY chance we get to save the country as envisioned and founded, so let’s just do it.   If we don’t do it while we can it WOULD take 20 to 50 years to undo the damage, and with no guarantee of success.

 

NUMBER TWO:

Section One: The Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the Land, shall not be subservient to or subjugated to any Foreign Law, International Treaty, or International Agreement, and shall be read, interpreted, applied, and adhered to literally.   No words or phrases shall be changed or substituted and no part of the Constitution shall be used to expand or increase Federal Power or Authority beyond that EXPRESSLY granted and enumerated in the Constitution.   The language of the Constitution shall be interpreted according to the definition of words at the time of their inclusion in the Constitution.  

Section Two:   The words “and general Welfare” are hereby stricken from the Constitution of the United States.   All Laws, Rules, Regulations, Orders, and/or Court Rulings based upon or reliant upon “and general Welfare” are hereby stricken from Law, declared null and void, and without force of effect.

Section Three:    This Amendment shall be retro-active upon its ratification.   Any and all Laws, Rules, Regulations, Orders, Treaties, and Agreements that directly or indirectly suborn or subjugate the Constitution of the United States as the Supreme Law of the Land, as read and interpreted literally, are hereby stricken from Law, declared null and void, and without force of effect.

 

EXPLANATION:   The Founders considered adding “expressly” into the Constitution, but decided that it was unnecessary.   The Founders were men of honor and could not imagine anyone even wanting to suborn the Constitution to political or ideological precepts.   They were wrong.   They grossly underestimated the creativity and lust for power of corrupt lawyers, judges, and politicians. 

Words change over time.   “And general Welfare” has been intentionally redefined from its original meaning until it now means something entirely different.

“Section Three” is added for the express purpose of preventing the Executive, Legislative, and/or Judicial Branches from declaring that previous Laws, Treaties, etc. are “Established Law” that should not be violated.

NUMBER THREE:

Section One:   No person shall be nominated for or appointed to the Federal Bench who is not a Natural Born Citizen of the United States, who has not attained the age of thirty five years, who is not a member of the Bar in good standing, who has not been a member of the Bar in good standing for a minimum of ten years, who is not law-abiding and without criminal conviction, who is not confirmed by a two thirds vote of the Senate of the United States, and who has not demonstrated a clear and consistent adherence to Constitutional Principles as envisioned by the Founders.

Section Two:   The Power and Authority of the Federal Judiciary shall be strictly limited to only those powers EXPRESSLY enumerated in Article III of the Constitution of the United States.    No Federal Judicial Ruling shall insert Legislative, Executive, or Judicial Power, Authority or Interpretation, direct or indirect, into the Constitution of the United States that is not EXPRESSLY enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.

Section Three:   Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and Judges of inferior Federal Courts shall stand for reconfirmation by the Senate of the United States every six years.   Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of inferior Federal Courts, ensconced on the Bench before the ratification of this amendment, shall also stand for reconfirmation by the Senate of the United States every six years.

Section Four:   Congress shall have, by two thirds vote of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the power to override individual rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States and/or inferior Federal Courts.   The President shall not have veto authority over Congressional overrides of Federal Court decisions.

 

EXPLANATION:   Article III is badly flawed.   The Founders spent much time and energy on Articles One and Two, but precious little time and energy on Article III.   In my view this was an error.   The Founders did not view the Federal Judiciary as a serious threat to Freedom or the Constitution.   History has proven them wrong.  

Neither did the Founders bother to lay out specific qualifications for the Federal Bench.   A careful reading of Article III reveals that there are NO qualifications for the Bench.   It is not even necessary for a Federal Judge to be a Citizen, let alone a Natural Born Citizen.   There is no requirement that a Federal Judge or Justice be a lawyer, let alone 'learned' or 'in good standing'.   The Village Idiot (think Joe Biden) could be nominated and would probably be confirmed.   A convicted felon could be nominated, confirmed, and serve as long as he/she committed no further offenses while on the Bench.   Technically, it is not even necessary for a person nominated to the Bench be a resident of the United States.

Nor are there ANY restrictions on Federal Judicial Power or Authority – NONE!   Article III lays out what the Judiciary CAN do, but does not say what it CANNOT do!   Any “limitations” on Judicial Authority are implied and assumed.   Lawyers and Judges often assume that if there is no SPECIFIC restriction on their power or rulings, said rulings must be Constitutional.   The courts have used this oversight to gradually increase their power to the current, overarching level.   This must stop!

Finally, there is NO "Check" on Federal Judicial Power.   The President can overrule Congress via Veto.   Congress can overrule the President via Veto Override.   Judges/Justices can overrule both Congress and the President.   But, NO ONE can overrule the Court!    The ONLY "Check" on the Court(s) at this time is Impeachment.   But, even if a Judge or Justice is impeached and removed from the Bench his/her decisions still stand.   We simply MUST implement some form of "Check" on the Court(s) and their rulings.    

Some have proposed term limits for the Judiciary.   This is a bad idea.   Term limits get rid of good Judges/Justices along with the bad.    My proposed amendment resolves ALL the issues surrounding the Judiciary.        

I firmly believe that the ratification of this proposed amendment would go a long way towards bringing the Judiciary back within its Constitutional Limits as envisioned by the Founders.

 

NUMBER FOUR:

Section One: No person shall be elected to Congress more than once unless serving in Congress at the time of the ratification of this amendment, in which case sitting Members of Congress shall be eligible for re-election to their respective seats one time.

Section Two: In the event the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is repealed Senators shall be selected according to the rules laid out in Article One of the Constitution of the United States, including service in the Senate as long as their respective State Legislature deems it appropriate.  

Section Three:  Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of six years, with one third of House Members elected every two years.

Section Four:   Members of Congress shall be subject to Popular Recall by their constituents.   Within 90 calendar days of the ratification of this Amendment the Legislatures of the several States shall pass Legislation governing the recall of their respective Members of Congress.   In the event a State fails to pass Legislation governing the Recall of its Members of Congress within the required 90 calendar days, that State’s Members of Congress shall have been recalled and new elections held within 60 calendar days.