Why This Matters
Congress is stuck. In 2024 alone, over 10,000 bills were introduced, and fewer than 40 became law. That means more than 99% of proposals disappear without a vote. This is not debate — it’s silence. And silence costs us: economists estimate $1.7 trillion annually is lost to gridlock through delayed infrastructure, healthcare, and education funding.
The U.S. Legislative Accountability Amendment is designed to fix this by adding a simple but powerful safeguard: when citizens, local governments, or state legislatures demand it, Congress must take a public vote on a bill. Members of Congress still retain their right to vote “no” — but they can no longer bury bills in committee to avoid accountability.
The 3 Triggers for Accountability
The amendment creates three independent ways to force Congress to bring a bill to a floor vote. If any one of them is met, the bill must receive a recorded yea/nay vote within 30 session days.
Threshold: At least 2% of the national electorate in the most recent presidential election. (Example: about 6.3 million signatures based on 2020 turnout).
How It Works: Citizens collect signatures on petitions tied to a specific bill (must be a substantive version, posted publicly for at least 72 hours).
Safeguards:
Follows Intent Clause: Only petitions aligned with the bill’s original purpose count — no bait-and-switch.
Verification: Clerk of Congress verifies authenticity within 30 session days, with public audit trails.
Challenges: Strict limits on bad-faith legal challenges, with expedited dismissal of frivolous cases.
Threshold: Resolutions passed by one-third of local governments nationwide (cities, counties, towns, and tribal governments recognized by the Census Bureau). That’s roughly 6,500 of ~19,500 entities.
How It Works: Each eligible entity votes to adopt a standardized resolution supporting a bill’s discharge.
Safeguards:
Uniform Model Resolution: Published to prevent confusion or manipulation.
Audit Trails: Clerk verifies and publishes every resolution publicly.