1. No pardons or commutations of sentences by the President – A vast majority of Americans want this change!  President Trump has abused this power to pardon law-breaker participants in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, along with pardoning crooks and cronies, making a mockery of our justice system.  President Biden also used this power for personal reasons to pardon his son, along with a number of other friends, flaunting a black eye for the Rule of Law, in favor of the Rule of (one) Man. 

2. No Electoral College – A vast majority of Americans want this change!  It’s purpose has long-since passed, as the popular vote for President is the best measure of the will of the American people.  (Based on all USA eligible voters in the 2024 election, Donald Trump received only 34% of that vote, as 66% either voted against him or did not vote all – hardly a mandate!)

Amending the US Constitution is not easy (only 27 approved since 1788), but using a Constitutional Convention demanded by State legislatures, with ratification by ¾ of the States is doable, given the public support for these changes.

3. Complete revision of ICE – The harsh reality of masked law enforcement roaming our streets, schools, and workplaces is a nightmare of the worst order.  ICE agents should not be allowed to work without showing their name badge, full face without a mask, yet showing only judge-signed warrants to arrest citizens and invade our privacy.  Legislation will be passed, similar to 42 USC 1983, whereby any civil rights violation by a member of ICE will result in a minimum fine of $100,000 and perhaps criminal prosecutions.  I advocate for a Congressional investigation and hearing on how ICE agents were trained or not trained, & who exactly was responsible for their training. Recognizing that ICE agents are not evil people but have been poorly trained in a type of terror-causing behavior, we need to fully understand why this occurred...and to prevent it from ever happening again.  DHS needs a complete revision as well.)

4.  No ICE representatives on any Indian reservation without the prior permission of the Tribe; Native Americans hold a special place in the Constitution as they are considered Sovereigns. Such individuals who violate their Sovereignty shall be subject to civil and criminal penalties, administered by the Tribe.

5. Health care reform – America’s health care is the most expensive in the world, and arguably the most derided by its citizens.  Health care is in crisis in our country.  One benefit of my experience and life in foreign countries is that I have experienced different levels of health care.  I would advocate that Congress takes a good look at the health care system in Australia, which works very well for one of our longest allies and a country that is very close culturally, including the work world, to America.  Australia has developed a two-tier health care system, whereby the first tier is a single payer/government model in that all citizens are covered for major medical health problems.  When major medical health issues are not involved, the second tier is covered by private insurance.  Private insurance companies are happy to provide that type of non-major medical coverage since there is cap on their upside liability coverage.  I recognize that the USA’s economic outlays and medical programs are different when comparing a country of 34 million citizens to one of 340 million people, but the success of Australia’s program should be examined closely and, of course, modified to fit our health care needs.  I hear a lot of politicians bemoaning our health care system, but very few actually come up with potential solutions – here’s one that could be a model for addressing needed change.

6. Social Security stabilization – Unless Congress acts to shore up the increasing gap between monies taken in for Social Security vs. monies going out to Senior Citizens as benefits, the whole system could suffer a partial collapse by 2032; mandatory benefit cuts would result in retirees receiving only 78% of their scheduled payments.  (Many young people believe they will never see ANY of the money they pay into Social Security from income from their jobs when it comes time for them to retire.)  A simple, albeit contested, solution would be to eliminate the limit on earnings subject to Social Security taxes.  Currently, the 2026 limit is $184,500 whereby earnings above that amount are not subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax, set to rise to approximately $188,700 for 2027.  It’s estimated that eliminating that tax cap altogether would improve the solvency of the program’s trust funds for another 30 years, at least.

7.  AI regulation – Regulation of this amazing tool is necessary at both the federal (baseline of protection) and at state levels (states can regulate above the baseline), to protect against abuse of seniors and minors.  While AI provides increasing levels of productivity, quick knowledge about many topics, and new insights and syntheses of ideas, strategies, and even new intellectual property, it can be very harmful when it defrauds people, their businesses, and government officials.  President Trump’s decision to not regulate AI is foolish, fiendish, and a failure of leadership. Leaving AI to be regulated by the market is naïve, at best, lethal at its worst.  Moreover, AI is challenging the very nature of Copyright, requiring us to act now to preserve intellectual property protection for artists and authors.

8. “States Rights” Powers Expansion under Tenth Amendment – The federal government is one of limited powers, while the States should have legislative prerogatives over many other areas of concern.  Specifically, in contrast to what President Trump has said, States are not “agents” of the Federal government but semi-sovereigns, having all powers not granted by the Constitution to the federal government.  States do have exclusive ‘police power’ over not just local law enforcement, but even abortion/right-to-life matters, for example, as well as alliances for best practices and innovative, tested approaches to public health. I am advocating legislation creating a league of states, such as WA, OR, CA, HI, AZ, NM, and CO for coordinated action (i.e. Common Foreign Direct Investment policy to attract new jobs at home).  The major way States are coordinated now is lawsuits against Trump filed by their attorneys general.  AI may be able to help us envision the full panoply of State powers together.  See article by Usrey, “A League of States: The Ultimate Antidote to Tyranny!”

9.  Independence of US Attorney General, not subject to control of the President, and Independence of the Federal Reserve Chairman, also not subject to control of the President, due to recent attempts by President Trump.  Trump’s use of the  Attorney General as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government to exact revenge upon his perceived enemies is a bastardization of justice at the federal level, resulting in the loss of dozens of skilled attorneys serving the people, not one man.  Similarly, making the Chairman of the Federal Reserve subject to Trump’s goal of low interest rates and easy money could result in stagflation of the economy, not to mention creating confusion in international markets as they try to guess Trump’s mood for economic growth at any cost.

10. Claw-back of ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ -- Re-funding of USAID and the CFPB, via reversal of tax breaks for millionaires in ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’  My wife and I have reached the ‘Economics of Enough’ and many wealthy people who received this tax break might contest this rollback.  Nonetheless, I advocate that the use of those extra monies would save lives through United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as provide guardrails against nefarious financial institutions under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The impact on lives saved and finances regained outweighs the cost of their effective operations.  Moreover, the trope of too much foreign aid going out to undeserving peoples is laid bare by noting the actual cost to Americans is just $10 billion (about $30 per citizen), while the cost to Americans in the defunding of the CFPB is about $20 billion in lost direct consumer relief.  The math just doesn’t add up, unless you are a Trump crony.

11. Focused Federal Grants for Entrepreneurship, modeled after SIRTI (Spokane Intercollegiate Research Technology Institute) and its progeny in the University District now called .  (Usrey was on the Board of Directors at SIRTI and several Whitworth students used that business incubator for successfully launching new inventions, as it served as an important catalyst in the development of what is now the ‘U District’ Amended.)  Entrepreneurism can and should be fostered at even the primary grade levels.  My experience with friends (David Bussau of Opportunity International who led the Christian Micro-Enterprise Movement in many developing countries, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus who founded the Micro-Finance movement with Grameen Bank) has led me to believe that our best efforts in foreign aid come from eliminating extreme poverty by empowering the poor to bootstrap themselves into harnessing marketplace capitalism to solve social economic problems.

12. NCAA NIL modification – Currently, a federal court has indicated university athletes should be paid, splitting up a $20 million pot of monies annually.  The Trump administration has presented a plan that would allow only one transfer by an athlete to another university over a five-year period, unlike the present rule allowing four or even five transfers during a collegiate career.  I would modify these provisions by placing all NIL monies for each athlete into an irrevocable trust until the athlete turns 21 years of age.  Stories of wasted income and wealth by young male and female athletes are rampant, so protecting those funds would obviate unwise decisions, while also encouraging completion of a university degree to fall back on in case a professional career goes bust.  After all, athletes attending and completing college education remains a hallmark of intellectual development while providing opportunity and success for young people.

13.  Repair International Relations With Our Allies -- Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand have been bullied by President Trump to succumb to his will on various geopolitical issues, including tariffs that cost consumers.  Farmers are particularly at risk when tariffs are assessed, and the fact that Trump’s tariffs were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court under the International Emergency Powers Act does not eliminate its effects.  Even though the tariffs are to be refunded some time in the future, the impact has created hardship for many farmers and producers in terms of cash flow and creating greater inflation.  As your representative I would advocate no more bullying and empty threats to our allies, which harms our economy, particularly our farmers...and results in weakening of our ties to historic partners.  Is it any wonder that Prime Minister Carney of Canada has sought out extensive new relationships with China, costing America the loss of opportunities to partner with a number of foreign governments.   As a professor of Economics and International Trade & Finance, the use of bullying tariff increases was never even contemplated, since the whole principle of free trade avoids economic dislocations, but improves our quality of life – not to mention that free trade theory was developed by Adam Smith and David Ricardo over 200 years ago.  As a supporter of the creation of the WTO, as your representative I would advocate legislation to restore funding and support for the missing judges that has hampered the effectiveness of the WTO to resolve tariff disputes and deal with inequities in trade.

14. Environmental Protection.  As your advocate, I would support the goal of stewardship rather than the exploitation or domination of our ecology.  For all intents and purposes, I am in full and complete agreement with the policies, legislation, and program statements of Washington US Senators Patty Murray and Marie Cantwell in their protection and preservation of our environment.  In the Inland Northwest, we cherish our environment.  One area of possible improvement in the management of our public lands is to place all public lands agencies (National Forests, BLM, National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, etc.) under one oversight, umbrella organization for better coordination of usages, conservation, and the prevention of fires.  As a result of President Trump’s budget cuts, National Forests will not be provided with seasonal workers this year, potentially leading to more fires that cannot be contained during this most recent dry winter, summer and fall.

15. Term Limits for US Supreme Court Justices – US Supreme Court Justices currently serve lifetime appointments under Article III of the Constitution (“good behavior”).  As the most powerful Supreme Court in the world, they face strikingly little accountability.  The Court stands alone in the world of constitutional  democracies in terms of no mandatory retirement age or even term limits. Almost all states in the US have some form of term limits for high court judges, while 31 states have some form of mandatory retirement.  Recent experts on reform of the Court call for Justices to retire (and take ‘senior status’ as all federal district courts mandatorily require); the proposal would require the Justices to retire after 18 years of service.  

That means every two years a new Justice would be appointed by the current President to replace a Justice retiring.  Studies have consistently shown that life tenure is not necessary for a fully functional Court that rules independently of the government.  This proposed change would not be fatal to Court integrity and independence – and would reduce the public perception that the Court is increasingly ideologically imbalanced.
                        
--Kyle Usrey, May 5, 2026