Section 2. In the event a Congress is dismissed in accordance with Section 1, a new Congress shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the second month of the new fiscal year.
Comment: Since the federal fiscal year starts October 1 of each year, this would be a regular election day -- the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. A month may not be much time for state parties to select new candidates at the state or district level and have them run for office, but that may be good: candidates will have to state their positions plainly and spend their campaign dollars wisely. What a refreshing change that would be.
Section 3. In the event a Congress is dismissed in accordance with Section 1 and a new Congress is elected, the President will appoint a Speaker pro tempore of the House of Representatives, who shall convene the new Congress within thirty (30) days of its election. The Speaker pro tempore need not be a duly elected Member of the incoming Congress.
Comment: This section ensures that both houses of Congress have leadership and organizational continuity from the start. The Vice President would continue to serve as President of the Senate. The last thing we need is another large leaderless group attempting to legislate. We have that now in the House Republican Caucus.
Section 4. In the event a Congress is dismissed in accordance with Section 1, the enacted budget for the previous fiscal year shall serve as the interim budget for the new fiscal year.
As in business, cash is the lifeblood of the government enterprise. This section ensures that there will always be an adequate, uninterrupted flow of cash to ensure governmental continuity.
Section 5. In the event a Congress is dismissed in accordance with Section 1, the successor Congress shall enact an annual budget for the Government of the United States within one hundred eighty (180) days of taking office.
After taking office, the newly-elected Congress would have six months either to reaffirm the budget then in force or to adopt a new one. But they cannot get away with doing nothing, while bickering over nickel-dime provisions. If they try that, they will be out on their collective rear at the end of the fiscal year, just as their predecessors were.
Section 6. Passage of an annual budget for the Government of the United States shall authorize the issuance of any public debt securities needed to finance the operations of the United States Government for the full fiscal year. No additional statutes authorizing or limiting the issuance of public debt shall be enacted and any such statutes in force at the time of ratification of this Amendment are hereby repealed.
This section finally -- FINALLY -- puts an end to the foolishness that is has become the periodic debt ceiling debate. Only in America -- specifically, only in the GOP-controlled House -- would anyone authorize spending without knowing where the money to be spent will come from. Only a Republican House would even consider stiffing the nation's creditors.
The debt ceiling is not a Constitutional requirement; it's a practice that was started nearly a century ago by Congressmen who did not want to spend too much on World War I. Maybe that was a good idea in 1917. But recently the debt ceiling has become a cudgel, wielded by those who would ransom the creditworthiness of the United States in exchange for some short-term political expediency.
The 14th Amendment, Section 4, says that, "The validity of the public debt " shall not be questioned." This Section eliminates one tool that right wing extremists might use to cause the validity of the public debt to be questioned. If they are going to spend money -- and boy, do Republicans like to spend money -- then they have to decide where the money comes from. It's taxes or debt, fellas: take your pick; it ain't free.
It's time for the American people to take charge of their government and demand that elected officials step up to their responsibilities. If it takes an amendment to the Constitution to do that, then that's what must be done.
I'd like to know what readers think of this proposal so please feel free to comment below.
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