Constituent First Budget Continuity and Accountability Act — Plain‑language explainer

Summary: My Act ends shutdowns forever, forces every agency to justify every dollar from scratch, and locks in citizen oversight as permanent infrastructure. It ties directly into existing federal law so it can’t be ignored, and it anticipates tomorrow’s problems—like emergency spending abuse, AI‑driven budgets, and hidden digital contracts.

What my Act does

• Automatic funding: Amends 31 U.S.C. § 1311 to add automatic continuing appropriations at last year’s levels, so shutdowns never happen again.
• Zero‑based budgeting: Amends 31 U.S.C. § 1105 to require every agency to start from zero each year, justify every program, cite its legal authority, and rank priorities.
• Independent audits: Uses 31 U.S.C. § 712 to direct GAO to audit 25% of agencies annually, publish results, and cut 5% of admin budgets for failures.
• Constituent oversight: Creates a public dashboard where citizens can see every program’s cost and performance, comment, and rank priorities. Committees must respond to the top 10% of citizen submissions before voting.
• Emergency spending reform: No more blank checks—emergency appropriations expire in 180 days unless reauthorized, and must be justified and published.
• Future‑proof transparency: Requires all data in human‑readable and machine‑readable formats, adaptable to AI and distributed ledger tech.
• Penalties for Congress: Overrides 2 U.S.C. § 4501 to suspend congressional pay, perks, and committee funds during CR periods.
• Citizen enforcement: Gives every American standing to sue in federal court if Congress or agencies ignore these rules, with attorney’s fees for winners.

Why it matters

• Protects families: No more shutdowns that furlough workers or freeze services.
• Ends autopilot spending: Agencies can’t recycle last year’s budget—they must prove their worth line by line.
• Stops emergency abuse: No more trillion‑dollar “emergencies” that never expire.
• Empowers citizens: Voters—not lobbyists—set the priorities through the dashboard.
• Future‑ready: Built to handle tomorrow’s challenges—AI, cyber, and fiscal shocks—without amendment.

Legal backbone

• Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) — my Act fixes its CR abuse.
• 31 U.S.C. § 1105 — budget submission; amended to require zero‑based justifications.
• 31 U.S.C. § 1311 — appropriations; amended to add automatic CRs.
• 31 U.S.C. § 712 — GAO audit authority; expanded for rotating agency audits.
• 2 U.S.C. § 4501 — congressional pay; overridden to suspend pay during CRs.
• Stop the Baseline Bloat Act (2025) — integrated to regulate emergency spending baselines.

Bottom line: “My Act keeps government open, forces every agency to justify every dollar, ends emergency spending abuse, and makes Congress—not the people—pay for failure.”