Forward to the Past With a New Constitutional Convention

Thomas Donlan:

The dry-run delegates proposed:

• Requiring a two-thirds vote of Congress to approve any increase in the national debt, and ending the power of Congress to mandate spending by states or municipalities.

• Placing 12-year term limits on members of Congress.

• Limiting the powers under the constitutional clause that authorizes Congress to regulate interstate and international commerce.

• Giving Congress a right of approval of federal regulations. No regulation challenged by 25% of the members of either house would go into effect without support from majorities in both houses, and the president would have no veto against their decisions.

• Repealing the 16th Amendment, which authorized imposition of the income tax in 1913, and requiring supermajority votes for creating or raising federal taxes.

• Giving the states the power to abrogate any federal law, regulation, or executive order by votes of three-fifths of state legislatures.

See more at conventionofstates.com.