Herman Cain tells National Review Online that he will launch a new political-action committee in January. The outfit, whose final name remains under wraps, will be Cain’s main project next year. Its mission will be to enact his “9-9-9” economic plan.

“We continue the campaign without a candidate,” says Cain, who hinted at the endeavor during his departure speech. “There are a lot of people who are willing to support the campaign for solutions without the end objective being my election as president of the United States.”

As Cain transitions to private life, “Friends of Herman Cain,” the financial force behind his presidential campaign, is being dismantled. “Most of that money is being used to retire all of our debt, which is good news,” he says. His revamped operation “will be a new entity that will promote many of the same solutions that I spoke about as a candidate.”

“There is no law that says I can’t talk about these issues as a citizen,” Cain says. “And there is no law that says that people can’t contribute to funding our efforts to educate people and influence legislators. That is what we are going to do. We’re going to have to find some allies in Congress and then help them take the lead.” In coming months, “look for my army on Capitol Hill.”

Mark Block, his campaign’s chief of staff, will serve the group as senior adviser, as will Linda Hansen, his campaign’s deputy chief of staff.