American Policy Architecture Institute¶

Blueprints for a stronger and more dynamic Republic

The American Policy Architecture Institute develops comprehensive blueprints to repair, maintain, and strengthen the systems designed to serve We The People.

Flagship Proposals¶

🏛️ Congressional Modernization Framework (CMF)¶

The Congressional Modernization Framework addresses structural challenges in American electoral and legislative systems through integrated modernization. The current system — winner-take-all elections, a House fixed at 435 members since 1913, and procedural rules that incentivize obstruction — produces predictable dysfunction regardless of which party holds power.

The Framework combines two coordinated components:

Federal Elections Modernization Act (FEMA) — Modernizes federal electoral architecture. Strengthens who gets elected.

STAR voting for all federal elections
Multi-member districts with proportional representation for House elections
House expansion toward cube root compliance
Uniform ballot access standards and federal party recognition
Non-qualifying candidate assessment examinations
Enhanced congressional resources and incentives
Tiered implementation delivering results from day 1 of passage

Office of Congressional Procedure Act (OCP) — Establishes professional, nonpartisan procedural infrastructure for proportional governance. Strengthens how those who are elected govern.

Proportional floor time, committee leadership, and amendment access allocation
Tenure-protected procedural staff insulated from political retaliation
Transparency mechanisms documenting procedural manipulation
Budget process enforcement preventing shutdown and debt ceiling crises
Discharge petition reform with confidential signature periods
Supreme Court nomination consideration deadlines
Phased authority model with acceleration triggers responsive to multi-party conditions

Learn more about the Congressional Modernization Framework

💰 American Shared Prosperity Compact (ASPC)¶

The American Shared Prosperity Compact addresses economic security through coordinated modernization of payment infrastructure, income support, and child benefits. Current systems are fragmented, administratively complex, and exclude millions from basic financial services. These interconnected problems require integrated solutions.

The Compact combines three components designed to function independently while integrating powerfully when combined:

American Prosperity and Stability Act (APSA) — Universal stability payment providing baseline economic security for adult Americans, funded through a broad-based consumption mechanism and administered through simplified enrollment.
American Payment Network Act (APNA) — Public payment infrastructure providing every American access to a fee-free digital account, enabling efficient delivery of public benefits and reducing transaction costs for unbanked and underbanked households.
Secure Our Children Act (SOCA) — Permanent expanded Child Tax Credit at $3,600/$3,000 per child, with monthly payments, dedicated funding through the Child Security Contribution, and automatic stabilization mechanisms.

Learn more about the American Shared Prosperity Compact

Major Proposals¶

⚖️ Federal Judicial Balance and Accountability Act (FJBAA)¶

The Federal Judicial Balance and Accountability Act restructures the federal judiciary to address structural dysfunctions that no single reform can solve in isolation. Federal circuits reflect nineteenth-century boundaries rather than contemporary population distribution. The Supreme Court has maintained nine justices since 1869 despite dramatic population growth. Judicial appointments depend on actuarial chance rather than principled constitutional design. The binary single-nominee confirmation model concentrates maximum leverage in the Senate's ability to reject. And the Supreme Court remains the only court in the federal system without binding ethical rules or meaningful enforcement.

The Act addresses these interconnected problems through five integrated titles:

Title I: Federal Circuit Reorganization — Fifteen population-based regional circuits using federal judicial districts as building blocks, with a structured five-year compliance assessment cycle and tiered rebalancing framework.
Title II: Supreme Court Composition and Appointments — Fifteen justice positions aligned with circuit structure, a three-phase career structure (Associate Justice, Co-Chief Justice, Senior Justice), shared leadership, vacancy coverage through Senior Justice rotation, and appointment equalization ensuring each presidential term includes exactly five appointment opportunities at steady state.
Title III: Transparency and Evaluative Standards — Evidence-based documentation requirements ensuring nominees possess comprehensive evaluable records, calibrated for multi-nominee evaluation under the slate-based process.
Title IV: Implementation and Fairness Provisions — Phased reforms over multiple years, with slate-based nomination using Bloc STAR voting and transparency requirements effective immediately. No sitting justice is removed, no salary is reduced, and "good behavior" tenure remains intact.
Title V: Judicial Ethics and Accountability — Binding ethical standards enforced through a Judicial Inspector General and Ethics Review Panel composed of Senior Justices, with graduated sanctions including mandatory early transition to senior status.

Learn more about the Federal Judicial Balance and Accountability Act

💼 Civil Service Accountability Act (CSAA)¶

The Civil Service Accountability Act modernizes federal workforce structure by applying the proven principles of the military officer corps to civil service. The United States maintains roughly 4,000 authorized political appointments — far more than any peer democracy — yet no modern administration has functionally staffed more than half of them. The result is chronic vacancies, institutional amnesia, and a cycle where inexperienced appointees produce the very dysfunction that justifies calls for more political control.

The Act replaces this cycle with professional infrastructure across nine titles:

Three-tier professional structure modeled on the military: Senior Professional Service, Professional Civil Service Officer Corps, and Career Civil Service
Political appointments reduced from ~4,000 to ~1,000 through evidence-based conversion over eight years, with no forced removals
Tiered Senate confirmation calibrated to position significance, with professional merit panels recommending candidates
Public performance reviews, enhanced Inspector General oversight, and mandatory congressional testimony for senior officers
For-cause removal with due process — incompetence and misconduct are grounds; political affiliation and policy disagreement are not
Revolving door restrictions with five-year lobbying bans, civil and criminal penalties, and public tracking of post-government employment
Competitive compensation ($150K–$280K for senior positions) with enhanced retirement and professional development
Structured severability ensuring the Act degrades gracefully under constitutional challenge

Learn more about the Civil Service Accountability Act

Additional Proposals¶

Congress & Elections¶

Congressional Capacity Commission Act (CCC) — Establishes an independent commission to assess congressional institutional capacity and recommend investments in staff, technology, and expertise. Congress has experienced significant capacity erosion relative to the executive branch it oversees.

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Candidate Verification and Transparency Act (CVTA) — Creates standardized verification processes for federal candidates, ensuring biographical claims are confirmed through systematic procedures rather than adversarial discovery.

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In Development¶

Additional proposals covering taxation and healthcare are in active development. Each follows the same methodology: identify structural dysfunction, design integrated solutions, provide complete legislative blueprints.

Prepared by Albert Ramos for The American Policy Architecture Institute