User:T.E.Cooper100/Compact For America Submission2

The Compact for America Educational Foundation, Inc. (the "Foundation") is a not-for profit corporation founded in Texas which educates elected officials, citizens and residents of the United States regarding the use of an interstate compact agreement paired with the required federal legislation of the U.S. Congress through Article V of the U.S. Constitution to originate, propose and ratify constitutional amendments by state legislatures. The Foundation’s first initiative, the Compact for a Balanced Budget, organizes member states into an interstate compact agreement to ratify a specific balanced budget and debt limit amendment to the Constitution.

Organization
In April 2014, the Foundation was formed as a nonprofit corporation in Texas. In October 2014, the Foundation received an IRS Determination letter confirming the organization’s tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is a separate and distinct entity from Compact for America Inc.

Board of directors and executive officers
The Foundation’s Board of Directors and executive officers:
 * Thomas Patterson, M.D. – Foundation Chairman, former 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
The Foundation’s Council of Scholars:


 * 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 Compact for a Balanced Budget ("CBB") states in Article I 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."

In April 2014, Georgia joined the CBB, followed by Alaska later that same month. Mississippi joined in March 2015 and North Dakota joined in April that same year.

Compact Commission
The Compact Commission (the "Commission") is established in Article IV of the CBB. The Commission appoints and oversees a Compact Administrator, encourages other states to join the CBB, and encourages congress to call an Article V convention in accordance with the CBB as well as coordinate necessary obligations detailed in the CBB. To ensure the convention’s proceedings follow the CBB, the Commission will oversee the convention’s logistical operations. The Commission must also protect and enforce the CBB in appropriate legal venues, as well as obtain and disburse funds for the operations of the Commission, the Compact Administrator, and the convention. Any organization sharing a common interest with the Commission that engages in policy research, public interest litigation or lobbying supporting the goals of the CBB will have cooperation from the Commission.

The first three member states of the Commission are eligible to appoint members. In July 2015, the members included Paulette Rakestraw, Chair of the Commission and member of the Georgia General Assemble, and Mead Treadwell, Chair-elect and former Alaska Lt. Governor. Mississippi had not yet named a member to the Commission.

Compact Administrator
According to Article IV of the CBB, the Compact Administrator must accurately record member states and their appointed delegates, maintain official records and communications of the CBB, notify member states of the convention’s date, time and location, and direct the convention’s logistical operations. The Foundation was appointed Compact Administrator by the Commission in January 2015 pursuant to a pro bono technical advisory services agreement.

Balanced budget amendment
Article II of the CBB defines the balanced budget amendment. Section 1 balances the federal budget by limiting spending to taxes and other receipts, 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 with certain exceptions. Section 6 provides necessary definitions and section 7 provides for self‐enforcement of the amendment.

Interstate compact agreement
The interstate compact agreement is defined by the CBB. Article I declares the purpose of CBB to organize the states using a compact to originate the Balanced Budget Amendment. Article II contains definitions, Article III details compact membership and withdrawal requirements, and Article IV establishes the Compact Commission. Article V establishes the resolution to Congress for the Article V convention to ratify the Balanced Budget Amendment which will be submitted when 38 states join the CBB. Article VI appoints delegates to attend the Article V convention. Article VII contains the convention rules and agenda with the sole agenda item being a vote to propose the Balanced Budget Amendment. Article VIII prohibits Member States participating in the convention unless the convention is called in accordance with the CBB. Article IX contains the resolution to ratify the Balanced Budget Amendment, effective when the convention proposes the amendment and Congress refers the amendment to the state legislatures for ratification. Article X gives state attorney generals power to enforce the CBB, resolves disputes, and terminates the provisions with a sunset date of seven years after the first state joins the CBB.

Notable endorsements
Endorsements of the CBB:


 * 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

Congressional resolution
H.Con.Res.26 is a concurrent resolution of the 114th Congress in the House of Representatives. Its stated purpose is 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."

H.Con.Res.26 was introduced to the House of Representatives on March 19, 2015 and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. On March 31, 2015 it was referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. H.Con.Res.26 includes a resolution to call the convention in accordance with the CBB, effective when 38 states join the CBB, and a resolution referring the balanced budget amendment to the state legislatures for ratification when the convention formally proposes the amendment.

Sponsors
The 18 sponsors of the CBB:

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)