JOINT RESOLUTION FOR THE POLITICAL ADVISORY PANEL OF AMERICA

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There is no requirement for the Political Advisory Panel of America to be a government entity, and its formation does NOT require Congressional approval.  A public or private company can run and maintain the PAPA website and application just as well as the government, delivering all PAPA’s advantages to members of Congress and to their constituents. 

However, because the general purpose of PAPA is to improve communications between Congress and its constituency (and for each to help improve the performance of the other), it would make good sense for Congress to pass and fund a bill or joint resolution to institute the Political Advisory Panel of America.  Should Congress desire to lead the charge to formally institute PAPA to assist citizens better fill their role in our federal government, Congress can introduce and vote on a joint resolution, such as the example below.  

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The citizens of the United States of America, in order to strengthen their representative form of government, and to improve the potential for their voices to be reflected in the actions of their elected federal legislators, announce their intention to establish an online federal Political Advisory Panel of America (PAPA) to advise members of Congress and to counsel the President of the United States, pursuant to measuring the accountability and effectiveness of these elected federal officials.

● Whereas legislators are not presently transparent in the quantity or direction of advice they receive from constituents on bills or resolutions;  

● Whereas lack of transparency has led political parties, special interest groups, and other entities to gain more influence over many elected federal legislators than the influence of those legislators’ constituents;  

● Whereas the people of the United States of America have a great need to aggregate their voices to their elected federal legislators in a collaborative and more effective manner to gain strength in numbers; 

● Whereas elected officials, political parties, and the media rely on potentially deceptive polls to inquire into voter sentiment; 

● Whereas participants in multiple regions of the U.S. responded to a 2014 Reuters poll at a rate of 19%-34% in favor of their states peacefully succeeding (responses ranged from approximately 1 out of 3 respondents, to 1 out of 5 respondents per region); 

● Whereas counties in 31 states (approximately 60% of the states) have already expressed interest in separating to form new states in order to regain representation for residents in those counties*, and whereas 12 states have already called for a Convention of States;  

● Whereas the U.S. and its population have increased in size, and whereas communication capabilities have greatly improved beyond what the U.S. founding fathers could have imagined; and 

● Whereas Congress and the President have formed committees, departments, and agencies to help execute their legislative and executive branch responsibilities, and whereas not all of these entities are identified in the U.S. Constitution - yet are intended to improve the performance of the government;    

Therefore be it resolved that the Political Advisory Panel of America (PAPA) will be formed as an online Advisory Panel through which verified voting-eligible U.S. citizens can voluntarily submit their voting directives to their elected legislators for bills, resolutions, and other business that comes before Congress. The Advisory Panel’s activity will be conducted in a public manner that measures legislators’ accountability, and in a private manner that maintains constituent privacy. The Advisory Panel will unify voters and improve voter influence on the votes cast by, and the legislation introduced by, their elected federal officials in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate; and will help counsel the President of the United States.    

Therefore be it also resolved that funding and other resources can originate from individuals, private and public entities, and government sources to initiate and provide ongoing support for the federal Political Advisory Panel of America.  Be it also resolved that the federal PAPA will become a model for establishing state level PAPAs.  

* - Under conditions outlined in the “States Clause” of Article IV, Section 3 of the US Constitution, portions of states are permitted to secede and form a new state.  Historically, Kentucky, Maine, and West Virginia met those requirements  and formed new states (Vermont may also be classified in this group).  Cook County, Illinois may represent the latest example of a subset of a state maneuvering to secede and form a new state.