User:T.E.Cooper100/Compact For America Submission1

The Compact for America Educational Foundation, Inc. (the "Foundation") is a not-for profit Texas corporation created to educate elected officials, citizens and residents of the United States of the use of an interstate compact agreement and counterpart federal legislation to coordinate the use of Article V of the U.S. Constitution by state legislatures and the US Congress to originate, propose and ratify constitutional amendments.

The first initiative of the Foundation is the Compact for a Balanced Budget ("CBB"), an interstate compact agreement that organizes the member states to propose and ratify a specific balanced budget and debt limit amendment into the U.S. Constitution.

Overview
The Foundation utilizes personal meetings, local events, regional events and social media, including its website and Facebook pages, to educate elected officials, citizens and residents of the United States and the several states of the use of an interstate compact agreement and a counterpart congressional resolution to coordinate the use of Article V of the U.S. Constitution by state legislatures and the U.S. Congress to allow states to originate, propose and ratify constitutional amendments under the power granted to the states in Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

The first initiative of the Foundation is the CBB, an interstate compact agreement that organizes the member states to propose and ratify a specific balanced budget and debt limit amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Organization
The Foundation was formed in April of 2014 and organized under the laws of the state of Texas as a Nonprofit Corporation.

In October of 2014, the Foundation received its IRS Determination letter confirming that the Foundation is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The foundation is not to be confused with Compact for America, Inc., a separate and distinct entity that is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Board of directors and executive officers
As of July 2015, the Foundation's Board of Directors and executive officers include:
 * Thomas Patterson, M.D. – Foundation Chairman, past chair of the Goldwater Institute
 * Prof. Kevin Gutzman – Board Member, Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Western Connecticut State University
 * Lawrence Reed, PhD – Board Member, President of the Foundation for Economic Education
 * Harold DeMoss, III, CPA – Board Member and Foundation CEO
 * Nicholas Dranias, JD – Foundation President

Council of Scholars
As of July 2015, the Foundation's Council of Scholars includes:


 * Dean Clancy - Senior Congressional and White House policy advisor
 * Hon. Harold DeMoss, Jr. - Senior Federal Appellate Judge ‐ US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Ret)
 * John Eastman, JD, PhD - Professor of Law and Former Dean – Chapman University Fowler School of Law
 * Jake Jacobs, PhD – President of Liberty Proclamation Education
 * Sven Larson, PhD – International economics research fellow
 * Byron Schlomach, PhD – Director of Policy – 1889 Institute
 * Ilya Shapiro, JD - Senior fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute
 * Stephen Slivinski - Senior Economist, for the Goldwater Institute, Cato Institute & Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
 * Baker Spring – Senior Congressional advisor on budget and national security policy

Compact for a Balanced Budget
The purpose and intent of the CBB, specified in Article I, is that "every State enacting, adopting and agreeing to be bound by this Compact intends to ensure that their respective Legislature's use of the power to originate a Balanced Budget Amendment under Article V of the Constitution of the United States will be exercised conveniently and with reasonable certainty as to the consequences thereof."

The state of Georgia was the first state to join the CBB in April, 2014. Shortly thereafter in the same month, the State of Alaska joined. Later, the state of Mississippi joined in March, 2015, followed by the state of North Dakota in April, 2015.

The current member states are Alaska, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Dakota.

Compact Commission
Compact Commission The Compact Commission (the "Commission") is established pursuant to Article IV of the CBB. It has the power and the duty to appoint and oversee a Compact Administrator, encourage states to join the CBB and Congress to call the convention in accordance with this CBB, and coordinate the performance of obligations under the CBB. The Commission will oversee the convention's logistical operations as appropriate to ensure this CBB governs its proceedings. It will also oversee the defense and enforcement of the CBB in appropriate legal venues, request funds and to disburse those funds to support the operations of the Commission, Compact Administrator, and convention. The Commission will cooperate with any entity that shares a common interest with the Commission and engages in policy research, public interest litigation or lobbying in support of the purposes of the CBB.

The first three member states are entitled to appoint members to the Commission. As of July 2015, the members of the Commission are Georgia's Paulette Rakestraw, Chair of the Commission and member of the Georgia General Assembly, and Alaska's Mead Treadwell, Chair-elect and former Alaska Lt. Governor. Mississippi has not yet named a member to the Commission.

Compact Administrator
The Compact Administrator, also established pursuant to Article IV of the CBB, has the power and duty to timely notify the member states of the date, time and location of the convention, organize and direct the logistical operations of the convention, maintain an accurate list of all member states, their appointed delegates, including contact information, and formulate, transmit, and maintain all official notices, records, and communications relating to this Compact.

In January 2015, the Commission appointed the Foundation as the Compact Administrator pursuant to a pro bono technical advisory services agreement.

Balanced budget amendment
The text of the balanced budget amendment that is the subject of the CBB is contained in the definitions in Article II of the CBB. The balanced budget amendment includes the following sections.

Section 1 balances federal budget by limiting spending to taxes except for allowed borrowing under a new constitutional debt limit. Section 2 establishes a constitutional debt limit equal to 105% of outstanding debt at time of ratification. Section 3 requires approval of a majority of the state legislatures if Congress desires to increase the debt limit. Section 4 requires the President to protect the constitutional debt limit through impoundments that Congress can override in greater or equal amounts. Section 5 provides for supermajority votes in Congress to increase new or existing taxes. Section 6 provides necessary definitions and section 7 provides for self‐enforcement of the amendment.

Interstate compact agreement
The CBB includes the following Articles.

Article I describes the purpose of organizing the states to originate the Balanced Budget Amendment using a compact. Article II provides the necessary definitions, Article III sets compact membership and withdrawal requirements, and Article IV establishes the Compact Commission. Article V describes the resolution to Congress applying for the required Article V convention to propose the balanced budget amendment that becomes effective when 38 states join. Article VI appoints and instructs delegates who will attend the resulting Article V convention, and Article VII details the convention agenda and rules, and sets the sole agenda item as the vote to propose the balanced budget amendment. Article VIII prohibits participation in the convention before Congress consents to the CBB and prohibits consideration of any other agenda items. Article IX defines the resolution ratifying the balanced budget amendment that becomes effective when the convention proposes amendment and Congress refers the amendment to the state legislatures for ratification. Article X provides enforcement by state attorney generals, a central dispute resolution venue, and termination provisions, including a sunset date of seven years after the first state joins the CBB.

Notable endorsements
In addition to the Foundation's Council of Scholars, notable endorsements of the CBB include:


 * Mike Church – Sirius XM Radio
 * Hon. John Culberson – Member of Congress
 * Hon. Paul Gosar – Member of Congress
 * George Leef – Forbes.com
 * Judge Andrew Napolitano – Fox News Channel Senior Judicial Analyst
 * Grover Norquist – Americans for Tax Reform
 * Hon. Sean Parnell – Former Governor of the State of Alaska
 * James Rodney – The Rodney Fund
 * Hon. Lamar Smith – Member of Congress
 * Lt. Co. Allen B. West (USA Ret) – National Center for Policy Analysis
 * George Will – Washington Post syndicated columnist

H.Con.Res.26 - the activating congressional resolution
H.Con.Res.26 is a concurrent resolution of the 114th Congress in the House of Representatives with the stated purpose that "The Congress determines and declares that this concurrent resolution calls the Convention contemplated by the Compact for a Balanced Budget under article V of the United States Constitution, and refers for ratification the Balanced Budget Amendment contemplated by the Compact for a Balanced Budget."

As of July 2015, the legislative history of H.Con.Res.26 includes an introduction in the House of Representative on March 19, 2015, a referral to the House Committee on the Judiciary on the same day, and a referral to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice on March 31, 2015.

The key provisions of H.Con.Res.26 include a resolution calling the required convention in accordance with the terms and provisions of the CBB, such resolution becoming effective when 38 states join the Compact, and a resolution referring the balanced budget amendment to the state legislatures for ratification, such resolution becoming effective when the convention formally proposes the amendment.

Sponsors
As of July 2015, the 18 sponsors of the CBB include:

Primary sponsor (1):
 * Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ)

Original co-sponsors (14):
 * Rep. Jim Bridenstine (OK)
 * Rep. Mo Brooks (AL)
 * Rep. Kevin Cramer (ND)
 * Rep. John Culberson (TX)
 * Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC)
 * Rep. Walter Jones (NC)
 * Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA)
 * Rep. Cynthia Lummis (WY)
 * Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA)
 * Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ)
 * Rep. David Schweikert (AZ)
 * Rep. Joe Wilson (SC)
 * Rep. Don Young (AK)
 * Rep. Ryan Zinke (MT)

Subsequent Cosponsors (3):
 * Rep. Lamar Smith (TX)
 * Rep. Scott Austin (GA)
 * Rep. Buddy Carter (GA)