Posted on 04/15/2005 1:23:39 PM PDT by Mamie2010
Peter Muhlenberg
James Madison explained the importance of the legislature being divided into two chambers in Federalist No. 10:
"Before taking effect, legislation would have to be ratified by two independent power sources: the people's representatives in the House and the state legislatures' agents in the Senate."
Amendment XXVIII
The United States Senate Restoration Act
An Act to restore a constitutional republic and Senate for the United States as provided for under Article I of the original Constitution for the United States. An act to restore and preserve state sovereignty and federalism.
SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "Senate Restoration Act of 2005"
SECTION. 1. Be it enacted: Article XVII of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
SECTION 2. Be it enacted. "We the People of the United States, . . . establish this Constitution for the United States of America" -- a contract or treaty between the Citizens of the States that created a federation regulating the distribution of power, rights and duties between the Citizens and the States which required ratification of the sovereign States to become valid. Article 1 Section 2 thereby guarantees to the Citizens that "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several State" -- "the people's house." Whereas, Article I, Section 3 guarantees representation in one branch of the legislature to each of the united States in that "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State." The Senate was "the states house" comprised of 'statesmen' not politicians or populists whereby the State as a whole was represented in the federal government and Senators were accountable to the States not special interests groups.
SECTION 3 Article XVII to the Constitution for the united States was proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Sixty-second Congress on the 13th of May, 1912, and was declared, in a proclamation of the Secretary of State, dated the 31st of May, 1913, to have been "ratified" by the legislatures of 36 of the 48 States.
SECTION 4. Article XVII to the Constitution for the united States creates a a 'stateless' democracy (communist ideology) and grants no representation to the States in the legislature as guaranteed under the Constitutional republic to regulate and limit the power of the federal government, thereby rendering the Senate for the united States null and void.
SECTION 5. Be it enacted. Article XVII is expressly prohibited to the federal government under Article V, Clause 3 whereby "no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate." Article V, Clause 3 requires a unanimous vote of the States for any change of suffrage in the Senate. A "republican form" of government is guaranteed to each State by Article VI Section 4 and Article I Section 4 guarantees to the sovereign States that "The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators." Article X of the Constitution further guarantees that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."
SECTION 6. Be it enacted. The interests of each State shall be represented in the federal government by the Senate for the United States that shall be composed of two Senators for each State chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.
SECTION 7. Be it enacted. No person shall be a Senator in the Congress for the United States who, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere; or any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States
SECTION 8. Be it enacted. If the Legislature of any State fails to choose a Senator in a timely manner, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until such time the Legislature can agree upon an appointee
SECTION 9. Be it enacted. If vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
SECTION 10. Be it enacted. The Senate for each State shall consist of a representative to each major political party guaranteeing the States "equal Suffrage in the Senate" thus eliminating 'majority' and 'minority' control of the Senate by any political party
SECTION 11. Be it enacted. Each party shall elect a leader, an assistant leader, a party whip, deputy whips, other officers and committees
SECTION 12. Be it enacted. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.
SECTION 13. Be it enacted. Each Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States and
each Senate "shall determine the rules of it's proceedings" and may adopt or amend the rules of the previous Congressional Senate if they so choose
SECTION 14. Be it enacted. The Senate for the United States "shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments" and "Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States."
SECTION 15. Be it enacted. Impeachment proceedings shall not be construed by the Senate to be a determination of whether or not the official has engaged in an 'indictable offense' under the laws of the United States; "but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law."
SECTION 16. Be it enacted. Any Senator from any State that shall obstruct and delay the duties of the Senate mandated under the Constitution, who fails to represent the State in the Senate or fails to adhere to the Congressional oath of office to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," shall be subject to removal and replacement by the Legislature of the respective State.
"these United States are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES"
Drafted March 16, 2005
a seventh generation American Patriot
and supporter of "The Judicial Reformation and Reorganization Act of 2005"
amended March 25, 2005
by Marian S. A. Tipp
Alan Keyes talked about doing this.
Sounds fine. Only itty-bitty problem you have is that you need a Constitutional amendment to repeal an amendment that has already been ratified and is currently a part of the Constitution.
I'm in agreement with everything but section 10. The purpose of this amendment is to give the state's back their power. I think this section limits state's power to decide who they wish to appoint and goes against the grain of the amendment.
That's why it's headed "amendment XXVIII."
BTW, what's up with the bit about requiring every state to choose one senator from each party? What an idiotic idea!
If each party votes in blocks that would give the sitting Veep mad powers!
I'll first that amendment to repeal an amendment. Is there a second on the amendment to repeal an amendment?
In other words, the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th, which was Prohibition.
Section 10 was for "equal Suffrage in the Senate"
I myself am tired of the "majority" fight ... political parties don't have rights, the citizens of the states do, plus, the citizens of each party would have a representative. Being a republican, I would hate to have two democrats in Congress ...
I know when I have brought up repealing the 17th amendment with state legislatures, they say we have a democratic majority in the state and they don't want the state majority to rule Congress ... Section 10 makes it even steven, no room for complaint IMHO
that's the problem -- the amendment was never "ratified" by ALL the states, and according to the Constitution "no state can be deprived of its equal suffrage without it's consent"
It makes it even steven until the vice president gets involved. The veep will more than likely cast the dciding vote many more times than he now does. Plus you contradict yourself. You say that political parties don't (shouldn't?) have rights, then you wish to give each major party the right to 50 senators, no matter what the individual legislators want. The Senate was indeed meant to be about state's rights, not the party's rights. tion 10 of the proposed amendment defeats that purpose.
Amednment XXVIII: Amendment XVII is hereby rescinded.
Amednment XXVIII: Amendment XVII is hereby rescinded.
It's got my vote.
I know what you're saying ... Section 10 gives the legislature the right to appoint "a representative to" -- there are many of the Constitutional Party that could represent their state in Congress, but they'll never get elected by the people.
I personally don't know of any other way to do it -- nobody wants to repeal the 17th amendment because of political parties, and regardless of whether they're 50/50, 75/25 or whatever, they are a fact of life ...
and why would any state that has different parties represented in the state, not want equal parties in the Senate?
I would explicitly provide that "Senators shall be selected by the several states in such manner as the individual constitutions thereof shall direct. In the event that the constitution of any individual state does not specify the manner of selecting its Senators, the Senators from that state shall be elected in a statewide popular vote performed at the same time, and in the same places, as the elections of House Representatives."
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