Docket

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

1. Section 1. Each state, territory, and the Federal District must both offer and mandate full-day kindergarten for each student as part of its basic public school education.
2. Section 2. Full-day shall be defined as lasting for an amount of time comparable (within one hour) to that which is expected of students in grades 1-12 in that district.
3. Section 3. Any school district that fails to comply with this legislation shall lose federal education funding until such time as compliance is reached.
4. Section 4. One percent of the Department of Defense budget shall be redirected to the Department of Education to be distributed to states, territories, and the Federal District to ease this transition. School districts which require additional funding to make this transition may apply to their respective education departments for financial support from this fund.
5. Section 5. This legislation shall be overseen by the Department of Education.
6. Section 6. This legislation shall take effect on July 1, 2027.
7. Section 7. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Founding connection: The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 declared that “schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged”; the Tenth Amendment reserves undelegated powers to the states; and the Spending Clause debate asks when federal funding conditions become coercion (South Dakota v. Dole, 1987; NFIB v. Sebelius, 2012).

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

1. Section 1. A nationwide moratorium shall be placed on the construction of new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and major expansions of existing AI data centers until Congress enacts comprehensive legislation establishing safety, labor, environmental, and consumer protections for advanced AI systems.
2. Section 2. For the purposes of this legislation:
   1. “Artificial intelligence data center” means a facility primarily dedicated to the training, deployment, or operation of large-scale AI models.
   2. “Major expansion” means any increase in computing capacity of 25% or greater.
   3. “Comprehensive AI safeguards” means federal regulations addressing AI safety standards, workforce impacts, energy consumption, environmental impacts, and transparency requirements.
3. Section 3. The Department of Commerce shall oversee enforcement of this moratorium.
   1. Existing data centers may continue operation and perform routine maintenance.
   2. The Department of Commerce shall submit annual reports to Congress evaluating AI’s effects on employment, infrastructure, energy consumption, and public safety.
4. Section 4. The United States shall restrict exports of advanced AI computing infrastructure to nations lacking comparable AI safety regulations, as determined by the Department of Commerce.
5. Section 5. This legislation will take effect within 90 days after passage.
6. Section 6. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Founding connection: The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8) and the Fifth Amendment’s protection of property frame the question of when Congress may halt private construction nationwide; the Federalist Papers’ case for a national commercial policy meets the Anti-Federalist worry about distant regulation of local land and energy.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

1. Section 1. A federal tax credit equal to 30 percent of qualifying expenditures shall be provided to businesses that manufacture designated critical goods within the United States.
2. Section 2. For the purposes of this legislation:
   1. “Qualifying expenditures” shall include construction or expansion of domestic manufacturing facilities; purchase of advanced manufacturing equipment; and workforce training programs related to manufacturing.
   2. “Critical goods” shall include, but not be limited to, semiconductors; pharmaceuticals and medical supplies; advanced batteries and energy technologies; and rare earth and strategic mineral products.
3. Section 3. To qualify for the tax credit, businesses must conduct the majority of manufacturing activities within the United States and comply with all applicable federal labor and environmental laws.
4. Section 4. The Department of Commerce shall oversee implementation and submit annual reports to Congress regarding the effectiveness of this program.
5. Section 5. Funding for this legislation shall be derived from general federal revenues.
6. Section 6. This legislation shall take effect on July 1, 2027.
7. Section 7. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Founding connection: Alexander Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures (1791) argued that the new nation should use bounties and tariffs to build domestic industry; Jefferson and Madison answered that government should not pick favorites among trades. The taxing power (Article I, Section 8) is the tool at issue.

RESOLVED, That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress:

ARTICLE —

1. Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or their resignation, the highest ranking elected federal officer who is not affiliated with the same political party as that President shall become President. In the case that the outgoing President is not affiliated with a political party, the highest ranking elected federal officer who is affiliated with any party shall become President.
2. Section 2. If there is no elected federal officer of a different party affiliation anywhere in the Executive or Legislative branch, or in the case of the death of the President, the Vice President shall become President.
3. Section 3. The remainder of the Presidential Line of Succession as laid out in the 25th Amendment shall be unchanged.
4. Section 4. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Founding connection: The original Constitution made the runner-up in the presidential election the Vice President, so the first contested succession would have crossed party lines (Adams and Jefferson, 1796). The Twelfth Amendment (1804) ended that; the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (1967) settled succession; Federalist No. 10 and Washington’s Farewell Address warn of the spirit of party.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

1. Section 1. Congress hereby refuses to provide any further funding to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Artemis program and specifically directs NASA to terminate the Artemis program.
2. Section 2. The funding recovered via this legislation shall be redirected back to taxpayers as federal income tax rebates.
3. Section 3. This legislation shall be overseen by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
4. Section 4. This legislation shall take effect immediately upon passage.
5. Section 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Founding connection: The power to tax and spend “for the general Welfare” (Article I, Section 8) was contested from the start: Madison read it narrowly, Hamilton broadly. Whether a moon program is a proper object of national spending, and whether savings belong to taxpayers or to other priorities, renews that argument.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

1. Section 1. All lands currently held and administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) shall be returned to this nation’s Indigenous Peoples to administer and utilize as they see fit.
2. Section 2. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) shall work in conjunction with this nation’s 575 federally recognized Indigenous tribes to determine which lands shall become part of which reservations. The BIA may elect to administer up to 20% of these lands itself on behalf of several local tribes that each have a legitimate claim to the lands in question.
3. Section 3. The BLM, FWS, NPS, and USFS shall remain functioning agencies and shall make their services available to the BIA and all federally recognized tribes for support in administering these lands if requested. After two years, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shall investigate each agency to see how much its budget might be decreased given the changes brought about by this legislation. All funding recovered through this process shall be redirected to the BIA.
4. Section 4. This legislation shall be overseen by the BIA in conjunction with the BLM, FWS, NPS, and USFS.
5. Section 5. This legislation shall take effect on January 1, 2030.
6. Section 6. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Founding connection: The Northwest Ordinance promised that “the utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians” and that their lands would not be taken without consent; the Property Clause (Article IV, Section 3) gives Congress power over federal lands; the Treaty Clause made treaties with tribes the supreme law of the land. Indiana’s own history includes the removal of the Potawatomi (1838) and the Miami (1846).

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

1. Section 1. Congress hereby authorizes the President to utilize military force to bring the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War to a swift and minimally violent conclusion, prioritizing an immediate and lasting peace over all other concerns and considerations. The President is directed to achieve this goal by the end of 2026, after which point this authorization shall elapse.
2. Section 2. This legislation shall be implemented in collaboration with the Department of Defense.
3. Section 3. This legislation shall take effect immediately upon passage.
4. Section 4. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Founding connection: The Convention changed Congress’s power from “make war” to “declare war” so the executive could repel sudden attacks (Madison’s notes, August 17, 1787); Hamilton in Federalist No. 69 called the commander-in-chief power “much inferior” to a king’s. The War Powers Resolution (1973) is the modern attempt to hold the line.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

1. Section 1. The United States shall suspend and prohibit all military and commercial sales and transfers of arms and defense services to the United Arab Emirates.
2. Section 2. Arms and defense services shall be defined as any item or service listed on the United States Munitions List, pursuant to 22 U.S.C. §§ 2778 and 2794(7).
3. Section 3. The Department of State and the Department of Defense shall oversee the enforcement of this legislation.
   1. The Department of State and the Department of Defense shall halt pending exports and terminate licensing for arms and defense services to the United Arab Emirates.
   2. U.S. companies found to be knowingly engaging in prohibited sales or transfers shall be subject to a $10,000,000 fine and civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to twenty years, and shall be sanctioned pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act.
4. Section 4. This legislation shall take effect immediately upon passage.
5. Section 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Founding connection: Congress regulates commerce with foreign nations (Article I, Section 8) and, under the Arms Export Control Act (1976), may block major arms sales by joint resolution. Washington’s Farewell Address urged the nation to “steer clear of permanent alliances”; the debate is whether arms sales buy security or entangle the nation in others’ wars.