Political Party ~ Two Party System Failed?
Government Based on the Original United States Constitution
~ Proposed and Submitted by Johnnie Johnson
July 11, 2011
THE HOUSE MUST EXERCISE DOMINION OVER THE POWER OF THE PURSE, TO CONTROL GOVERNMENT.
James Madison said “The House of Representatives cannot only refuse, but they alone can propose, the supplies requisite for the support of government. They, in a word, hold the purse …” further he said “This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.”
We the people, of these United States, through our respective Representatives, still hold the purse strings of our government. Article I Section 7 Par.1. “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives;… ” That is a huge and sacred responsibility, to spend or not to spend the people’s money, or to tax or refrain from taxing, the people’s property. When you are close to the people, in small Congressional Districts, you know the status of the people, and what they can bare, and they know you and will hold you accountable. Elbridge Gerry stated, “Taxation and representation are strongly associated in the minds of the people, and they will not agree that any but their immediate representatives shall meddle with their purses.”
When any part of government needs money for their budget, they come to Congress, beginning with the House of Representatives, where their request is placed or not placed in a “Bill for raising Revenue” and goes through the process of becoming a Law, which if it passes is placed on the Congressional budget. “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law;…” (Art. I Sec. 9 Par7) Our Representatives need to find out if there is proper and constitutional need for that money. This alone is a huge task. The people’s representatives were not given this responsibility just to sign checks, but rather to protect the people’s pockets from abuse.
In the “Bill for Raising revenue”, Representatives are expected to give directives on what the revenues are to be used for and expect accountability of civil officers over the expensing. After the Congressional budget has passed through the existing legal process and the people’s money has been allocated, the Representatives need to follow through to make sure that the money has been used for the purposes it was requested, and not improperly redirected for some other purpose. To accomplish this, the House needs to evaluate the, “…regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money …” (Art. I Sec. 9 Par7) In addition they should spot check personally through out the nation, to verify the validity of the reporting. Where the accounting is vague or conflicting, the people’s representatives need to know why! They also need to evaluate the effectiveness of the program as well as the propriety of the program being administered from the National level. (Perhaps the State level could administer it more effectively.) They need to know if the program should continue, and at the same level of support! The Representatives then, independently, determine if they can justify collecting future tax revenues to fund that particular program or activity of Government. This oversight is Constitutionally necessary to help keep the people’s taxes as low as possible. If the people’s representatives discover impropriety, in the misuse of tax dollars, or discover funded programs which have gone off the intended course, or programs that the people no longer want, then the House has the right and responsibility to evaluate current needs, and may shrink or eliminate funding. The power to lower spending, or not to spend, totally rest with the people, through their Representatives in the House. For those that feel that this is an abuse of the separation of powers, they need to understand and know that proper accounting and oversight are constitutional responsibilities of the House which they must perform, lest they fail the people. How can the house disperse the people’s tax support faithfully, and provide accountability to the people, without this oversight? It is under this power of oversight, that the various programs of government are to be carefully considered, and either $ continued or $ defunded in protection of the people’s civil liberties and property. This is one way, in which the people have of controlling their government.
In reference to Article I.Sec.9.Par. 7 “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; …”. It seems that there is always someone looking for a way to dip into the treasury, for what ever reason, without going through proper procedures.
Quote from W. Cleon Skousen’s The Making of America Pg.485
‘A variety of tricky devices have been developed by government agencies to circumvent this requirement. Some of these include:
- A confidential fund allocated to the executive for undercover intelligence work.
- Government contracts based on “cost plus 10 percent” with virtually no supervision of the cost factor.
- Trust funds in various agencies with wide discretionary power to spend accrued interest without a public accounting.
- Authority granted to the Federal Reserve to deduct its “expenses” from the accrued profits before turning the remainder over to the U.S. Treasury. The extravagant “expenses” of the Fed have been criticized in Congress.
- The Budget Act of 1974, which allowed a group of so-called “experts” in the Congressional Budget Office to establish an estimate of funds needed for each agency-and thereby eliminate a close analysis of each program in the agency to see if it justified the expenditure or even the existence of the project.
Shifting certain expenses to “off budget” items. When this was first authorized in 1974 the off-budget deficit was $1.4 billion. By 1984 it had expanded in $16 billion.’ Close Quote.
Any laws or conduct, attempting to circumvent Article I. Sec.9 Par7 to obtain moneys from the treasury or redirect moneys headed for the treasury, needs to be ferreted out by our Representatives. They have the keys to the treasury and must give the required oversight needed to protect our funding for the support of government.
OUR REPRESENTATIVES ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT NO AREA OF OUR GOVERNMENT, HAS ANY OUTSIDE SOURCES OF INCOME, OTHER THAN THROUGH THE TREASURY. PROTECTING THE PEOPLE IN THIS MANNER, ASSURES THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS RELIANT UPON US FOR FUNDING, AND PROTECTS US FROM OUR GOVERNMENT DEVELOPING A LIFE AND POWER OF ITS OWN TO EXERCISE UPON US.
Wilson Nicholas said “Any branch of government that depends on the will of another for supplies of money, must be in a state of subordinate dependence, let it have what other powers it may.”
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