American Union Issues Legislative Demands to Congress

Fayetteville, North Carolina Aug 8, 2022 (Issuewire.com) - The American Union (AU) released their 2022 legislative proposal today to members of Congress and their opponents in the November election. The unified set of demands across all 470 districts represents a revolution in participatory democracy; a good faith offer by the union of voters to reelect incumbents of both parties in exchange for the pre-election passage of a crowdsourced legislative package.

"Voters are tired of Congress breaking their promises, which is why we're demanding specific action before the midterms in exchange for our votes," said Brian Winters, founder of the American Union. "Conventional wisdom suggests that major legislation is undesirable in an election year, but a genuine political reform must be capable of breaking through artificial obstacles."

The 217-page legislative package, the Blueprint for a Better America, was informed by national survey data and developed through a consensus-driven legislative process. It contains more than fifty policies under three planks; end poverty, end mass incarceration, and end the endless wars. Members of Congress are allowed five weeks to propose amendments, which the Phoenix Congress, a legislative subcommittee of American Union organizers, will consider.

On September 24, a compromise package will be published, a take-it-or-leave-it offer for all Congressional candidates. To better inform the American public of the details of the final proposal, 21 public hearings will be held, livestreamed every evening through October 14.

Each hearing will explain specific policy details of the three planks, including the establishment of a public option for health insurance and $1,300 per month universal basic income that ends poverty. Mass incarceration is addressed through robust police and prison reforms, including halting the federal war on drugs. The legislation also reduces the defense budget by one-third over five years, closes some foreign military bases, and repeals decades-old authorizations for the endless wars.

Winters called for individuals and organizations who support a majority of the fifty policies to put their differences aside over remaining points of contention. "The framers all found things to dislike in the Constitution," he pointed out, "but they were willing to compromise because America was worth saving. 235 years later, it still is." The legislative package draws inspiration from the five duties enumerated in the Preamble to the Constitution.

On Saturday, October 15, after three full weeks of public consideration, the American Union will hold a public vote on the legislation via Twitter, where individuals can publicly pledge support for immediate enactment of the package by sharing the hashtags #VoteAU or #fastforpeace. Citizens willing to collectively bargain with their ballots in the midterms commit to voting for the Republican or Democratic candidates who receive the union's endorsement. As true swing voters, the American Union will have an oversized impact on the midterms. By leveraging just 3.5% of the electorate, AU members will decide dozens of close House and Senate races around the country and ultimately determine the balance of power in Washington.

For members of Congress and their challengers, a failure to express unqualified support using the hashtags will be recorded as opposition. Incumbents indicating acceptance of the legislative package to end poverty, end mass incarceration, and the endless wars are guaranteed the AU endorsement, provided that the legislation advances through Congress by October 26. Otherwise, their opponents who registered support on October 15 will receive it. Should both candidates decline to compete for the AU endorsement, it will be awarded in a way to best demonstrate the political power of the American Union, up to and including a random distribution based on the Powerball drawing of October 31.

"This is not about being spoilers, it's about being deciders," Winters said. "We want to give members of Congress the opportunity to do the right thing and usher in an era of peace and prosperity for the American people. We're at a turning point in history where we can untangle the nation's biggest problems, if the American people have the courage to stop playing lesser-of-two-evils politics."

The Blueprint for a Better America was developed with the goal of addressing poverty, racism, and militarism -- the three evils of society identified by Martin Luther King Jr. To further emphasize the principled nature of the effort, the American Union has called for a national day of fasting on October 15, as a fast of moral pressure to inspire Congress to act.

Learn more about the American Union: AnAmericanUnion.com