Liberty Maven

Finishing up the first week of our new series, we find that a total of 218 new bills were introduced in Congress in only five days, the vast majority of which are quite clearly unconstitutional.

47 new bills we introduced on Friday.  Below are some of the more asinine ones.  (My commentary will appear in red).

• HR221 – Recognizing and honoring Johnny Grant for his work as the Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, California for more than a quarter of a century.  [Huh?  It takes a vote of 535 elected officials to "honor" someone?  How it this the business of government?]
• HR220 – Urging Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.  [More unnecessary foreign meddling].
• HR1381 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend existing elective tax treatment for Alaska Native Settlement Trusts.  [It's clearly unconstitutional for a law to benefit a group less than all Americans].
• HR1380 – To establish a grant program for automated external defibrillators in elementary and secondary schools.  [Don't get me started on government schooling].
• HR1379 – To prohibit the commercial harvesting of Atlantic striped bass in the coastal waters and the exclusive economic zone.
• HR1378 – To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to develop guidelines to be used on a voluntary basis to develop plans to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs, to establish school-based food allergy management grants, and for other purposes.
• HR1377 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand veteran eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility, and for other purposes.  [I see a lot of bills come through with regards veteran benefits.  Somehow I have a hard time making sense of the idiocy of spending so much money to go out and blow stuff up, and then having to pay for the endless benefits of soldiers for the rest of their lives.  CLARIFICATION: Since one reader took exception to my statement, let me clarify.  For those who have served our country, I believe the U.S. has a responsibility to care for their physical and mental well-being.  However, the umbrella of "veteran's benefits" has become another huge sinkhole of taxpayer money and resources due to the hugely overreaching U.S. military policy.  If we dismantle the U.S. military-industrial complex, we'll be able to ramp down on all these benefits because we'll be deploying a lot fewer troops, and therefore much less in the way of benefits will be required in the long run].
• S-543 – A bill to require a pilot program on training, certification, and support for family caregivers of seriously disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces to provide caregiver services to such veterans and members, and for other purposes.
• HR1376 – To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas.  [Huh?]
• HR1373 – To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a resource study along the “Ox-Bow Route” of the Butterfield Overland Trail in the States of Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, and for other purposes. [So it's fair for people in Maine to share in paying for this?]
• SR68 – A resolution recognizing the contributions of the Pennsylvania National Guard in service to the Nation.

• HR1374 – To prevent the abuse and exploitation of older individuals.  [...as though such a thing is possible.  The details here are overwhelming].
• HR1289 – To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the five-month waiting period in the disability insurance program, and for other purposes.
• HR1287 – To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a partnership with the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission regarding the use of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and for other purposes.  [WTF?]
• HR1286 – To amend the Act titled “An Act to provide for the establishment of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and for other purposes” to clarify the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to accept donations of lands that are contiguous to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and for other purposes.
• HR1285 – To establish the Commission on the Foreclosure and Mortgage Lending Crisis.  [Ugh.  Another bill that intends to stop what needs to happen].
• HR1284 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 103 West Main Street in McLain, Mississippi, as the “Major Ed W. Freeman Post Office”.
• HR1271 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2351 West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, Florida, as the “Elijah Pat Larkins Post Office Building”.
• HR1281 – To provide for the return of the Fresnel Lens to the lantern room atop Presque Isle Light Station Lighthouse, Michigan, and for other purposes.
• HR1278 – To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Shirley Chisholm.
• HR1275 – To direct the exchange of certain land in Grand, San Juan, and Uintah Counties, Utah, and for other purposes.
• HR1274 – To permit employees to request, and to ensure employers consider requests for, flexible work terms and conditions, and for other purposes.   [More meddling in the affairs of private businesses].
• HR1273 – To honor Susan B. Anthony by celebrating her legacy on the third Monday in February.  [Yet another federal holiday?]
• HR1270 – To reauthorize community development block grants, and for other purposes.
• HR1268 – To amend the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit issuance of residential mortgages to any individual who lacks a Social Security account number.
• HR1265 – To restrict the use of offshore tax havens and abusive tax shelters to inappropriately avoid Federal taxation, and for other purposes.  [More attacks on Swiss banks accounts, and the like?]
• HR1264 – To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to provide for the national flood insurance program to make available multiperil coverage for damage resulting from windstorms or floods, and for other purposes.  [Tinkering with disastrous legislation won't make the problems go away].
• HR1263 – To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for the automatic enrollment of new participants in the Thrift Savings Plan, and to clarify the method for computing certain annuities based on part-time service; to allow certain employees of the District of Columbia to have certain periods of service credited for purposes relating to retirement eligibility; and for other purposes.  [It's not bad enough that we're already forced to donate to the Social Security rathole?]
• HR1261 – To protect the public health by establishing the Tobacco Harm Reduction Center within the Department of Health and Human Services with certain authority to regulate tobacco products, and for other purposes.
• HR1258 – To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit manipulation of caller identification information, and for other purposes.
• HR1257 – To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require the disclosure of information relating to the fair market value and safety of damaged motor vehicles.

And lastly, for a change of pace, here’s a bill that we can all get behind:

• S542 – A bill to repeal the provision of law that provides automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress.

Too bad such a bill will never make it out of committee.

Have you called your representatives lately?  (Senators, Representatives).  It’s quick and easy. Stand up for what you believe in.  Let them know how you feel.

Have a nice weekend.