1. Article V: One Amendment Power, Initiated Two Ways  The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress;

2. Busting the Myth of the Runaway Philadelphia Convention  Articles of Confederation were already breached and non-binding on the States.  James Madison in Federalist No. 40 Refutes Runaway Claims:

3. George Washington’s Promise 1788  “It should be remembered that a constitutional door is open for such amendments as shall be thought necessary by nine States.”  George Washington did not tell a lie. Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute Constitutional Policy Director, ndranias@goldwaterinstitute.org

4. Your Future is at Stake

5. What Would TJ do?  “I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our constitution; I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government to the genuine principles of its constitution. I mean an additional article taking from the federal government the power of borrowing.” Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute Constitutional Policy Director, ndranias@goldwaterinstitute.org

6. The Plausible Solution to our National Debt Problem McLaughlin & Associates: “Six in ten voters favor a balanced budget amendment and at least 70% favor Compact for America’s specific and common sense proposals to rein in the federal deficit. These survey results demonstrate that Compact for America has the potential to obtain broad support.”  Section 1: Federal spending is limited to tax cash flow with the sole exception of borrowing under the debt limit specified in Section 2.  Section 2: The federal government’s currently unlimited borrowing capacity is limited to 105% of the total outstanding debt.  Section 3: A referendum of state legislatures is required to approve any increase in the debt limit set by Section 2. This provides flexibility for emergencies but ensures the federal debtor will no longer have the unilateral power to set its own credit limit.  Section 4. The President or Congress are required to enforce the debt limit set by Section 2 by designating necessary delays in spending months in advance of reaching that limit. If neither acts, spending will be limited to tax cash flow (per Section 1) when the debt limit is reached. The President could be impeached for failing to act. Illegal debt is deemed void.  Section 5. Simple majority approval of taxes is limited to: 1) the replacement of all income taxes with a non-VAT sales tax; 2) the elimination of tax loopholes; and 3) new or increased tariffs and fees. Congress will be forced to run through a narrow gap defended by powerful special interests. This will cause deficits to be closed by spending cuts first.  Section 6. Definitions are carefully crafted to maximize transparency and eliminate all known tactics used to circumvent constitutional debt limits. Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute Constitutional Policy Director, ndranias@goldwaterinstitute.org

7. Patrick Henry had a point…  100+ legislative acts required  34 state applications  1 congressional call  >26 delegate appointments  1 congressional referral  38 ratifications

8. The Compact Approach to Article V A2 Proposed amendment A4 Compact Commission A5 Application to Congress A6 Delegate appointment A7 Convention rules A8 Scope limitations A9 Ratification S1 Call S2 Ratification referral State Compact Congressional Resolution

9. The Complete Risk Analysis  The status quo is a runaway convention in Washington.  Keeping the locus of power in Washington will eventually destroy the Constitution.  Not using Article V is unilateral disarmament.  No convention is ever convened before 38 states and simple majorities of Congress settle their differences and agree on the Compact.  All of Eagle Forum’s famous 20 questions about the Article V amendment process have been answered.  Not a single delegate of a single member state can participate in the convention the Compact organizes unless the rules specified in the Compact are adopted as the first order of business.  The power of nullification is used to deem “void ab initio” any runaway convention and any runaway proposal.  Compact self-repeals in seven years. Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute Constitutional Policy Director, ndranias@goldwaterinstitute.org Extreme Danger of Status Quo Extreme Safety of Compact