The Founding Fathers that wrote our Constitution could not foresee the modern society and the long term corrupting influence of a small number of private interests over the public domain.
For some time now the United States Congress has been recognized by the general public as being unduly influenced by Special Interest Groups and professional Lobbyists. Americans have lost faith in Congress as Congress has become the realm of professional politicians – turned lobbyists. Greed, Power, and Party Antagonism for its own sake rather than for the Public Good have become the twisted guiding credos of generations of elected public servants. Credos which were anathema and a corruption to the principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Nowhere is this corruption more evident than in campaign finance, made worse by recent decisions of the Supreme Court. Not only have professionally lobbyists been able to contribute directly to Elected Officials campaigns, the spigot is wide open now, where there is no limit to overall contribution. So we have elected representatives of the people, with the conspicuously obvious conflict of interest of approaching either directly or indirectly professional lobbyists for money.
If our Constitutional Republic is going to avoid a long slow death due to rampant corruption from within, citizens must act.
Imagine if elected officials, Representatives or Senators, were not campaigning and/or asking for money literally half to three quarters of their entire elected term of office. Imagine the productive work that could be done for the Public Good.
Imagine if elected officials were true public servants, not influenced by special interest groups or lobbyists. Imagine if elected officials were not professional politicians more interested in scoring points with a special interest group than the Public Good. Imagine if elected officials were true public servants and not corrupt politicians more interested in a fat paycheck with a lobbying group after leaving office than the Public Good.
Now act.
Amendment XXVIX: Restoring the Public Servant: Accountability and Transparency in Government for the Public Good
Terms and Term Limits
[Article I and Amendment XVII hereby amended as follows].
The United States House of Representatives shall be composed of Representatives chosen every five years by majority vote by voting age citizens residing in their representative State District. One Term of a U.S. Representative shall be for five years. Each Representative can serve a maximum of three terms, either continuously or separately.
The United States Senate shall be composed of Senators chosen every five years by majority vote by voting age citizens residing in their representative State. One Term of a U.S. Senator shall be for five years. Each Senator can serve a maximum of three terms, either continuously or separately.
Campaign Finance and Influence Peddling
Campaign finance will be entirely in the public domain, not in any way influenced by the private domain. All prior Campaign Finance legislation to this Amendment is abrogated. Any future creation or existence of any entity in any way associated with prior Campaign Finance legislation, including any form of Political Action Committee is henceforth illegal.
A special Campaign Finance Fund shall be set up and jointly administered by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This Campaign Finance Fund allocates an exactly equal amount – the amount determined yearly after review – to the candidacy of every official candidate for the United States Legislature, either Senator or Representative, and the Office of the President of the United States. This shall include existing Federal Government elected officials seeking re-election within term limits.
Every candidate for United States Congress, including existing Senators or Representatives, as well as candidates for President of the United States, shall campaign for office no more than 6 months prior to Election Day. Any violation shall void the candidate’s candidacy for office. Every existing elected official from either co-equal Legislative or Executive branch of government campaigning for re-election within term limits must still perform at minimum basic responsibilities of the office while on campaign.
Any campaign advertising information in any recorded form that is found to be untrue, fraudulent or material misrepresentation of any known fact shall void candidacy for office, with civil and/or criminal proceedings as applicable.
Any elected or appointed officials; any Supreme Court Justice; any staff, employeess, interns from any branch of the Federal Government of the United States are banned from direct or indirect contact of any kind and by any definition with any Lobbyist or Special Interest Entity.
The definition of "Lobbyist" or "Special Interest Entity" shall include but not limited to any person, persons, public or private entity, public or private entities that would; gain in any way by direct or indirect influence with any elected official, any staff or employee of any elected official, any Supreme Court Justice or employed staff, any employee, intern or volunteer of the three branches of the U.S Federal government; would gain in any way by direct or indirect influence upon or with new, pending or existing public law, federal policy, program or initiative; receive income or gain of any form or amount from any public or private entity, public or private entities, individual or group of individuals to influence in any way any elected official, appointed member or employee of any branch of the Federal Government. Influence shall also be defined as contact at any time and in any form.
Any elected or appointed official of Congress or the Administration, including congressional or adminstration staff, is banned for life from ever becoming a Lobbyist and/or associated in any way with a Special Interest Entity at any time upon leaving office or leaving employment associated in any way with a public office.
Any reported or observed violation or violations shall be investigated by a permanent investigative and enforcement Federal Anti-Corruption Task Force (FACT) within the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with three separate though coordinating departments: Legislative Branch Anti-Corruption, Executive Branch Anti-Corruption, and Judicial Branch Anti-Corruption.
The FBI’s Federal Anti-Corruption Task Force (FACT) is charged as the leading investigatve and enforcement agency, in active coordination and collaboration with other federal and state government investigatve agencies, in bringing to justice all forms of Corruption within all co-equal branches of United States Federal Governmment: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Criminal and/or Civil proceedings shall be brought against any person, persons, public or private entity, public or private entities by the FACT where a violation or violations are proven to have merit by force of this Constitutional Amendment, Criminal Pulic Law, or Civil Public Law.
Transparency for the Public Interest
At least four times per Congressional Session, to include the six-month maximum campaign season; each elected Representative or Senator shall have a televised Congressional Open Forum where on-the-record civil input and feedback is given by any U.S. citizen. These meetings shall be transmitted via all social media channels as well.
On the permanent agenda of all Congressional Open Forums is legislative achievement review of the elected official’s record in the current Congressional Session, including analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO analysis shall include, but not limited to, the number and quality of sponsored and co-sponsored public law by the elected official as well as any redundancy or inefficiency in all the committees currently served on by the elected official.
The cost of these meetings shall be taken out of the Congressional Transparency Fund (CTF) created and administered by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). At the end of each Congressional Open Forum, both the CBO and GAO shall create their own version of a Congressional Open Forum analysis report. The GAO analysis will be guided from a utilization of public resources on proposed or existing projects or initiatives of the elected official. The CBO analysis will focus on feasibility of planned or existing projects or initiatives of the elected official from a policy perspective.
All Analysis and Reports shall be posted for public consumption on a designated section of congress.gov and government social media platforms.
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