An Open Letter to Donald Trump–10/8/2020

• Phoenix Congress 2020 represents members of the American Union, who are willing to vote for both Republicans and Democrats in the 471 federal races who will meet our terms, including Donald Trump. This is part of a series of open letters explaining our demands.

October 8th, 2020

Dear President Trump,

The Phoenix Congress has been writing to you every day for the last several weeks to highlight some aspects of our legislative package that would benefit Americans. The Blueprint for a Better America is here. It is a single legislative package, written by the people, for the people, which will:

• End poverty
• End mass incarceration
• End the endless wars

The Blueprint is supported by the members of the American Union, a block of swing voters willing to elect both Democrat and Republican candidates for federal office who pledge their support for enacting this compromise. The pledge is made by joining our national 24-hour fast for peace on Thursday, October 15, 2020. Incumbents, including yourself, who accept our terms are expected to enact the bill prior to the election. A full copy of the legislation is available on the Phoenix Congress website here.

Below is a complete summary of the bill and the specific ways it addresses those three problems. While we recognize neither party will “win” over the other with this bill, Americans will win. We will establish justice, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare.

In order to broker a truce between the base of the political parties, the legislation contains a compromise on two polarizing issues, guns, and abortions.

• The Hyde Amendment would be codified into law.
• No bans or restrictions on abortions could be offered for 10 years.
• Universal background checks would be established.
• This provision does not authorize a firearm registry, and says so explicitly.
• No bans on guns of any type could be offered for 10 years.
• A 2/3rds super-majority would be required to override these provisions for 10 years.

End Poverty

Ending poverty is done with universal basic income (UBI); every citizen gets an unconditional American Union job, to remind us of the duties laid out in the Preamble of the Constitution. Our role as Americans, individually and collectively, is to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

Under the American Union jobs program:

• Approximately 300 million American Union jobs would be created, compensating all Americans for the value they create in our country. There would be no requirements of any kind attached, it would be unconditional.
• UBI of $1300/month for adults, $433 for children, would be issued by the Social Security Administration from the American Value Fund.
• It is projected that Social Security’s administrative costs would be under 0.5%.
• Wages from an American Union job are taxable income.
• No cuts to the safety net are included in this legislation; however, it is expected that most programs will atrophy when this safety floor lifts all Americans out of poverty.
• Americans would be eligible for a year-end bonus to further increase economic growth.

The American Value Fund pays for UBI and is funded in five ways:

• The Fund is projected to receive $7.76 trillion over the first four years from a 15% subtraction-method value added tax (VAT). Companies may elect to pay a higher rate through voluntary value sharing, which would fund any year-end bonuses. The IRS would maintain a public list of these companies, including a ranked list of the top 200.
• A carbon fee-and-dividend, starting at $15/metric ton, is projected to put $658 billion into the Fund over the first four years.
• A plastic fee-and-dividend, starting with a 20% fee on sales of virgin plastic resin and a $.05 fee on individual products, is projected to put $428 billion into the Fund over the first four years.
• Savings from the repeal of the child tax credit, which is replaced by $5,200 UBI for children, is put into the Fund for the next four years, totaling $482 billion.
• Two $1 trillion coins bearing the President’s profile will be minted pursuant to Congress’ Constitutional authority and sold to the Federal Reserve for deposit into the Fund each year, 2020–2024.

Other Job Benefits:

• American Union insurance is a public option for health insurance. The penalties on large employers not offering health insurance are repealed, reducing the burden on employers while encouraging the decoupling of insurance and employment. Premiums for the public option may be deducted from UBI payments.
• 18 weeks of paid family leave would be offered, paid for by a .25% payroll tax on employees and employers. This is unrelated to American Union jobs, which are unconditional; only those with other employment would be eligible. Bringing America’s infant mortality rate down to the European average would save the lives of 10,000 babies each year.
• American Union banking would require Federal Reserve banks to open digital accounts for all, and neighborhood banks would offer local access through pass-through accounts. This would bring all Americans into the banking system.
• The Postal Service would be authorized to offer pass-through accounts and other basic banking services, just like post offices do in almost every other country.

End Mass Incarceration

Ending mass incarceration includes sentencing reviews and reforms, an end to the war on drugs, as well as police and prison reforms. This title is broken into three subtitles, each bearing the name of a victim of the policies in need of reform.

The George Floyd Justice Act provides police reforms:

• Federal LEOs would be required to take a training course establishing a clear duty to intervene when any LEO is using excessive force against a civilian, with states incentivized to do the same.
• Chokeholds and carotid holds would be established as a civil rights violation.
• Federal LEOs would be prohibited from using deadly force, except as a last resort after de-escalation techniques and less lethal force had been attempted, and only if there was no substantial risk to third parties. States would be incentivized to enact the same policy.
• LEOs’ qualified immunity for civil rights violations would be removed.
• The transfer of military surplus to law enforcement would be restricted.
• Any sexual acts with people in Federal custody by those acting under the color of law will be considered abuse; consent would not be a defense to criminal prosecution. States would be incentivized to enact the same policy.
• A federal ban on no-knock warrants would require repeated knocking and identification before forcing entry to an occupied dwelling. States would be incentivized to enact the same policy.
• Federal cash bail would be prohibited. States would be incentivized to meet decreasing annual targets for the percentage of cases where cash bail was used, from 80% down to no more than 10% by 2025.
• Civil asset forfeiture would be prohibited.
• A committee to propose legislation establishing a voucher program for legal services would be created. Funded by a fee on providing legal services, vouchers would be provided promptly to individuals after an arrest.
• A public, searchable, national police misconduct registry would be established, with grants to states conditioned on their submission of the information, as well as meeting national certification standards for employing LEO.
• All of these reforms would apply to Federal law enforcement officers (LEO), and grants to states would be withheld as an incentive to enact matching reforms within a given time frame.

The Weldon Angelos Justice Act would end the war on drugs:

• The Controlled Substances Act would be repealed.
• A sense of Congress would be enacted: that criminal penalties solely for recreational drug use are not justice, which the Constitution instructs us to establish. An affirmative defense to any federal drug crime would be created, that the intended use of the drugs in question was recreational.
• A 12% sales tax would be imposed on the sale of formerly illegal drugs, or “recreational intoxicating products.” The FDA would establish rules for purity and labeling.
• A Drug War Justice Office would be established, using funds from the tax to administer treatment services for substance use, legal services related to drug crimes, and services in communities most adversely impacted by the war on drugs, including job training, reentry services, literacy programs, youth recreation or mentoring programs, and health education programs.
• Legitimate businesses that engage in the sale of recreational intoxicating products would not be prohibited from access to the banking system.
• Completed sentences for federal drug crimes would be expunged.
• The states, which are laboratories of democracy, would be free to enforce or repeal their own drug laws as they see fit.
• Additionally, the 1917 Espionage Act would be reformed to protect whistleblowers.

The Matthew Charles Prison Reform Act, would humanize the incarcerated:

• Federal prisoners would be eligible for sentence review after serving more than 10 years, or for drug crimes.
• The Prison Litigation Reform Act, which created a higher bar for access to the legal system for the incarcerated, would be repealed, along with programs that incentivize states to have Truth In Sentencing laws.
• Eligibility for federal Pell grants would be restored for the incarcerated. Education is a proven way to reduce recidivism.
• Mandatory minimums would be struck from the United States Code.
• A Parole Commission would be established, and federal parole would be reinstated.

End the Endless Wars

Ending the endless wars has two major components; reducing our global military footprint and budget (which is greater than the world’s next 10 largest defense budgets combined), and improving our moral standing on the global stage:

• The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed after 9/11, would sunset in 240 days. Congress would be free to pass another one if so needed.
• The 2002 AUMF, authorizing the Iraq war, would be repealed.
• Explicit authorization from Congress would be required for use of force against Iran.
• The military budget would be reduced by 10 percent annually for four years, reducing spending to what it was in 2004 during the Iraq war. A 2/3rds super-majority would be required to override these provisions during the 10-year period.
• The United States nuclear stockpile would be reduced by 50% over the next four years.
• The Secretary of Defense would be directed to hold local referendums around the 800+ foreign military bases, asking the population if they want the US military presence to remain. Their wishes would be respected, and the Secretary would be directed to implement a corresponding base closure plan within two years of enactment.
• Arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in its war on Yemen would be halted.
• The use of unilateral economic sanctions against civilian populations would be restricted, with exceptions for military hostilities or as part of a broader coalition.
• The purchase of landmines or other lethal autonomous weapons would be prohibited.
• Guantanamo Bay Military Prison would be closed, with those held there transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, or to another country.

Miscellaneous provisions

• A requirement to negotiate for Medicare part D drug prices would be established.
• The provision of the REAL ID Act which applies to air travel would be amended to apply only to those required by federal law to show identification as a condition of boarding an aircraft.

Mr. President, a compromise on this level has not been seen in American politics in generations. However, the American people deserve progress; it is long overdue. As the incumbent, you have the right of first refusal on this bill. There is one additional condition for you, something only you have the power to do: pardons. Whistleblowers Reality Winner, Edward Snowden, and Jullian Assange must be pardoned, and you can announce this on October 15th to show your endorsement for this deal to end all deals.

The Phoenix Congress invites you and every American to join us in a fast for peace on October 15th. This fast represents the sacrifice we are all willing to make for the greater good of our country. Will you join us?

Respectfully yours,

Phoenix Congress 2020

Other articles on Medium:

Series of open letters to Trump: Listed on our website

A call to action around Martin Luther King, Jr.’s triple evils: The Marginalized Must Unionize in 2020

A look at our duties as Americans and the legislation they inspire; The Blueprint for a Better America