The "Constitutional Tender Act"

A new effort to restore constitutionally sound money at the state level is the Constitutional Tender Act. According to the website describing this endeavor:

The United States Constitution declares, in Article I, Section 10, "No State shall... make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts". But, in fact, EVERY state in the United States of America DOES make some other "Thing" besides gold and silver coin a "Tender in Payment of Debts" -- some "Thing" called "Federal Reserve Notes." Thus the need for the "Constitutional Tender Act" -- a bill template that can be introduced in every state legislature in the nation, returning each of them to adherence to the United States Constitution's actual legal tender provisions.

As stated in the above paragraph, the project's website includes a bill template designed for adaptation to the proper form for each state's legislature. The "constitutional tender" defined in the template for the purposes of this act is limited to American Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle coins minted since 1986 and pre-1965 United States 90% silver coins. Only dimes, quarters, and half-dollar coins are included among the latter. When queried by this writer about provision for including pre-1936 standard silver dollars, which are also 90% silver but contain almost 7% more silver per dollar of face value than dimes, quarters, and halves, the project's Bill Greene replied:

It's not a perfect solution, to be sure; but we felt that legislators, who are for the most part ignorant of the requirements of the Constitution, might understand using the "junk silver" coins a lot easier than silver dollars from a lot farther back.

Yes, it does seem a bit less than "perfect" to omit from a constitutional money bill provision for utilizing the one coin that is the cornerstone in the foundation of the monetary system mandated by the Constitution. It is also debatable whether pandering, in the interests of expediency, to "ignoran(ce) of the requirements of the Constitution" on the part of state legislators, is preferable to expending the educational effort necessary to effect constitutionally based monetary reform. Nevertheless, time is running short to enact these sorts of measures and a less-than-perfect solution that can be fine-tuned after implementation is likely better than the alternative: continuing with the ruinous and unconstitutional tendering of Federal Reserve Notes by state governments. I am therefore entirely in favor of this effort and recommend you give it serious consideration and support for enactment in your own state.

At this point, Georgia is the only state to introduce a bill (HB 430) based on this template. Perhaps readers of this post will see fit to adapt the template for their own states and persuade their state legislators to introduce -- and pass -- it?

Please note that I have provided a permanent link to the Constitutional Tender Act website in the right-hand sidebar of this blog under the heading, "My Favorite Links."