The Unified States of America

Article I — The Legislative Branch

Section 1. Bicameral Legislature

A. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a People’s Assembly and a Senate.

Section 2. The People’s Assembly

A. The People’s Assembly shall be composed of Members chosen every fourth year by the People of the several States.

B. Districts shall be apportioned according to population with approximately eight hundred thousand (800,000) persons, drawn according to fair, non-partisan methods.

C. Each district shall elect one voting Representative and five non-voting Issue Representatives focused on the following specific policy areas:

1. Economic Affairs & Finance

2. Healthcare & Social Welfare

3. National Security & Foreign Affairs

4. Infrastructure, Energy, & Environment

5. Justice & Civil Rights

D. The qualifications for a voting Representative shall be the Age of twenty-five Years, seven Years a Citizen, and an Inhabitant of the State wherein their District lies.

E. Voting Representatives shall serve no more than four terms.

F. The Assembly shall choose its Speaker and Officers and hold the sole Power of Impeachment.

G. A majority of voting Members constitutes a Quorum, and physical presence is required for floor business.

Section 3. The Senate

A. The Senate shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen for eight Years, each having one Vote.

B. The qualifications for a Senator shall be the Age of thirty Years, nine Years a Citizen, and an Inhabitant of that State.

C. Senators shall serve no more than two terms.

D. The Vice President shall preside over the Senate with no vote unless equally divided.

E. The Senate holds the sole Power to try Impeachments, with a two-thirds vote required for conviction.

Section 4. Elections and Meetings

A. Elections shall be regulated by the States, subject to federal law consistent with the standards established in the Bill of Rights.

B. Congress shall meet regularly throughout the year, with designated recess periods.

Section 5. Rules and Procedures

A. Each House shall keep and publish a Journal of its proceedings.

B. A physical quorum of voting Members is required for floor business.

Section 6. Compensation and Restrictions

A. Compensation for Members shall be ascertained by Law.

B. The financial integrity rules (blind trust) established in the Bill of Rights shall apply.

C. No compensation shall be paid during government shutdowns due to appropriations failure.

Section 7. Bills and the Budget

A. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the People’s Assembly.

B. The People's Assembly shall propose the annual Budget.

C. The standard procedure for presentment, Presidential signature or veto, and Congressional override (two-thirds) shall apply.

Section 8. Powers of Congress

A. Congress shall have the Power To:

1. Lay and collect Taxes (Income, VAT, Wealth, etc.), Duties, Imposts and Excises;

2. Pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare;

3. Borrow Money, regulate Commerce, coin Money;

4. Establish Rules of Naturalization and Bankruptcy;

5. Establish Post Offices, promote Science and Arts, and constitute inferior Tribunals.

B. Congress holds the exclusive Power to declare War, requiring a two-thirds vote of both Houses.

C. The filibuster shall be limited to active speaking, with cloture requiring a three-fifths vote.

Section 9. Limitations on Congressional Power

A. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

B. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

C. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

D. No Title of Nobility shall be granted.

Section 10. Limitations on State Power

A. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation.

B. No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports.

C. Federal funds shall not be withheld to coerce States, except to enforce the equal protection of the laws.

Section 11. Status of Artificial Entities

A. The rights protected by this Constitution are afforded to natural persons.

B. Corporations, unions, and other artificial entities do not hold inherent constitutional rights equivalent to those of citizens, including rights under the First Amendment concerning political speech and expenditures.

Article II — The Executive Branch

Section 1. The President

A. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America, who shall hold Office during the Term of four Years and be limited to two terms.

B. The President and Vice President shall be elected by Electors who are bound to the popular vote of their respective States. Election Day shall be a national holiday, held over a Saturday and Sunday.

C. The qualifications for President shall be the Age of thirty-five Years, a natural born Citizen, and fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

D. The Vice President shall succeed the President in case of removal, death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office.

E. The President's compensation shall be fixed for the duration of their term.

F. The financial integrity rules (blind trust) established in the Bill of Rights shall apply to the President and Vice President.

G. The President shall, before entering the execution of the Office, take an oath to faithfully execute the Office and, to the best of their ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and its accompanying Bill of Rights.

Section 2. Presidential Powers

A. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.

B. The President shall not commit the armed forces of the United States to conflict except under one of the following conditions:

1. Pursuant to a Declaration of War, which requires a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress as established in Article I, Section 8.

2. Pursuant to a specific Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which must be passed by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

C. The President shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur.

D. The President shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States. Confirmation of all such appointments shall require a majority vote of the Senate.

E. The power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States is hereby abolished. With all federal court proceedings broadcast publicly (as mandated by the Bill of Rights, Article XX), the judicial process itself is subject to ultimate public scrutiny. All verdicts, once rendered and having completed the appeals process, shall be final.

F. The President shall have no power to make recess appointments. Should an urgent vacancy arise while Congress is in recess, the President’s sole recourse is to call one or both Houses into session to consider the nomination.

Section 3. Presidential Duties

A. The President shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.

B. The President may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, but shall have no power to adjourn them.

C. The President shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers.

D. The President shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section 4. Impeachment

A. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors, including felony violations or clear violations of the Constitution or its accompanying Bill of Rights.

Article III — The Judicial Branch

Section 1. Federal Courts and Judges

A. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.

B. The Supreme Court shall be composed of nine Justices. Henceforth, each Justice shall be appointed for a single term of twenty years and may not be reappointed.

C. Transition for Sitting Justices:

1. Any Justice who has already served for twenty years or more shall be deemed retired, creating a vacancy to be filled by the sitting President.

2. Any Justice who has served for fewer than twenty years shall continue in office until they complete a total of twenty years of service, at which point their term shall end.

D. All federal Judges, including Justices of the Supreme Court, shall hold their Offices unless removed by impeachment for violations of the Code of Ethics.

E. The compensation for all federal Judges shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

F. The Judiciary shall be bound by an enforceable Code of Ethics as established by law.

Section 2. Jurisdiction and Procedures

A. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases arising under this Constitution, its accompanying Bill of Rights, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made under their Authority.

B. All federal court proceedings shall be made public, as mandated by the Bill of Rights, Article XX.

C. The Supreme Court shall have the power of judicial review and may declare any law passed by Congress or any action taken by the Executive Branch to be unconstitutional if it is found to be in conflict with this Constitution or its accompanying Bill of Rights.

D. The principles of Habeas Corpus, Due Process, and Equal Protection shall be perpetually guarded by the Judiciary.

Section 3. Treason

A. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

B. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Article IV — The States and the Union

Section 1. Relations Among States

A. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.

B. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

C. A person charged in any State with a crime who flees from justice and is found in another State shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which they fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime.

Section 2. Admission of New States and Protection of States

A. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union.

B. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion and domestic Violence.

Section 3. Federalism and Coercion

A. Federal funds shall not be withheld to coerce any State's compliance with federal policies unrelated to the purpose of said funds, except where necessary to enforce the equal protection of the laws.

Article V — The Department of Peace and Defence Authorities

A. The federal department responsible for military affairs, heretofore known as the Department of War, shall henceforth be named the Department of Peace.

B. Appropriations for military spending shall not exceed one point six percent (1.6%) of GDP per Bill of Rights, unless War declared.

C. Executive power to use force is restricted as specified in Article II, Section 2.

Article VI — Taxation, Finance, Public Accounts, and Enforcement

A. Preamble: In establishing the powers of taxation necessary to fund the general Welfare, Congress shall be guided by the historical precedent of the United States. This nation achieved unparalleled economic growth and prosperity during periods with highly progressive tax structures, including top marginal individual income tax rates exceeding ninety percent and corporate tax rates exceeding fifty percent following World War II and through the 1950s, and rates exceeding seventy percent through the 1970s. These historical successes inform the principle that robust taxation on the highest incomes and profits is not a barrier to, but a foundation for, broad national prosperity and the funding of public good.

B. Taxes shall be laid according to structures in Bill of Rights (including investment-for-loan option for top 10%).

C. Appropriations are required for all expenditures.

D. Budget transparency is mandated (15 days pre-vote).

E. Public debt validity shall not be questioned.

F. Budget surpluses shall be applied to debt principal reduction.

G. Congress shall sufficiently fund administrative bodies, including a dedicated revenue service division, to ensure collection of all mandated taxes, utilizing robust auditing and modern data capabilities.

Article VII — Treaties, Foreign Emoluments, and Foreign Affairs

A. Treaties require two-thirds Senate consent.

B. Transparency regarding treaties is required.

C. Acceptance of foreign emoluments by officers is prohibited.

Article VIII — Succession, Vacancies, and Continuity

A. Presidential succession beyond the Vice President shall be determined by Law.

B. Principal officer vacancies shall be filled with Senate consent.

C. No recess appointments shall be made.

Article IX — Amendments

A. Amendments may be proposed by: two-thirds of both Houses; Convention called by two-thirds of State Legislatures; or verified Petitions from ten percent of voters in two-thirds of States.

B. Ratification shall be by: three-fourths of State Legislatures or State Conventions.

C. Citizen-initiated proposals cannot be vetoed pre-ratification.

D. This amendment process applies to both this Constitution and its accompanying Bill of Rights.

Article X — Supremacy; Oaths; Religious Tests

A. This Constitution, its accompanying Bill of Rights, and Laws/Treaties made in pursuance thereof, are the supreme Law of the Land.

B. All federal and state officers shall be bound by Oath to support this Constitution and Bill of Rights.

C. No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Article XI — Reservation of Rights to the People

A. The enumeration in this Constitution and its accompanying Bill of Rights of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

B. Any power not explicitly delegated to the federal government by this Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, is reserved solely to the citizens of the United States.

Rationale: This article updates and clarifies the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. It explicitly states that ultimate sovereignty and all unenumerated powers reside with the citizens themselves, not with the state governments. This establishes a clear principle of popular sovereignty as the foundation of the nation.

Article XII — Interpretation and Balancing of Rights

A. The rights enumerated in this Constitution and its accompanying Bill of Rights are of co-equal importance.

B. When the exercise of one right appears to be in conflict with another, the Judiciary and all branches of government shall interpret and apply them in a manner that balances the competing interests to provide the greatest possible protection to each right.

C. No single right shall be interpreted in a manner that completely extinguishes or renders meaningless another enumerated right.

Rationale: This article establishes a clear framework for resolving conflicts between fundamental rights. It rejects the idea that some rights are inherently superior to others and mandates a balancing test. This ensures, for example, that freedom of expression is not used to completely eliminate the right to privacy, or that religious freedom is not used to negate the right to equal protection. It requires a thoughtful harmonization of rights, rather than allowing one to cancel another out.