Act, Section 5

The People hereby authorize the appropriation of funds from the Treasury of the United States, pursuant to Article I, Section 9(7) of the United States Constitution, to enable the Electoral Trust to organize itself, repay debts herein described, and begin the performance of its duties. Debts to be repaid under this Section are those incurred by Philadelphia II, the proceeds of which were used to pay the costs of preparing for and conducting the election for the enactment of the National Initiative for Democracy, which costs shall include, but shall not be limited to, the production cost of ballots, printing, mail, print and electronic communications, including the Internet, and services in support of the election conducted by Philadelphia II, and related costs such as the cost of the legal defense of Philadelphia II's operations, all of which shall have been audited and certified as bona fide by the Electoral Trust prior to repayment. Hereafter, appropriations shall be made annually to the Electoral Trust as an independent agency of the United States Government.

Parrish Report

As with all agencies of the Federal Government, the operation of the Electoral Trust will be funded by specific appropriations from the United States Treasury. Whereas appropriations for all other federal agencies are authorized by acts of Congress, the citizenry permanently authorize the funding of the Electoral Trust through this Democracy Act. The Electoral Trust's use of appropriated funds will be subject to two levels of audit: first by an independent audit function within the Electoral Trust; secondly, like all other Federal government agencies, by the General Accounting Office.

In preparing for and conducting the election for the National Initiative, Philadelphia II will rely upon the generosity of donors and may borrow funds necessary to finance facilities, staff, contracts, equipment and/or other legitimate expenses essential to this election. Inasmuch as the funds from these loans will be used on behalf of the People, affording them the opportunity to empower themselves by enacting the National Initiative, it is appropriate that public funds be used to repay these debts, after they have been audited and certified by the Electoral Trust.

The last sentence of this section requires Congress to appropriate funds on an annual basis to support the operations of the Electoral Trust. The amount of these appropriations will, of course, depend on a combination of factors, including the amount requested by the Electoral Trust in its budget submissions, federal tax receipts and competing priorities. If at some time the citizenry come to feel that the Congress is consistently remiss in carrying out this duty, they may, by initiative, adjust the priorities of the members of Congress.