Liberty Maven

With forty-nine new bills introduced in Congress yesterday, one must wonder how many are really necessary, and more importantly, how many are Constitutional.  Answer: very few.  In fact, the vast majority are unconstitutional intrusions into private industry, adding layer upon layer of regulation and bureaucracy.  Here are a few of the more obvious examples:

• HR1690 – To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to make grants to coastal states to support voluntary State efforts to initiate and complete surveys of coastal waters to identify potential areas suitable for the exploration, development, and production of renewable energy, and for other purposes.
• HR1691 – To require that health plans provide coverage for a minimum hospital stay for mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer and coverage for secondary consultations.
• HR1684 – To preserve the rights granted under second amendment to the Constitution in national parks and national wildlife refuge areas.  [Why do we need a bill to repeat what the second amendment already says?  Simply hang (for treason) all those who violate their oaths to uphold, protect, and defend the Constitution.]
• HR1692 – To amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act to exempt ordinary books from the lead limit in such Act.
• HR1693 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under part B of the Medicare Program, and for other purposes.
• S-672 – A bill to amend the Natural Gas Act, the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, and the Federal Power Act to modify provisions relating to enforcement and judicial review and to modify the procedures for proposing changes in natural gas rates.
• S-674 - A bill to amend chapter 41 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for the establishment and authorization of funding for certain training programs for supervisors of Federal employees.
• S-675 – A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the sale of dishwashing detergent in the United States if the detergent contains a high level of phosphorus, and for other purposes.
• S-677 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require wealthy beneficiaries to pay a greater share of their premiums under the Medicare prescription drug program.
• HR1677 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and expand the benefits for businesses operating in empowerment zones, enterprise communities, or renewal communities, and for other purposes.
• HR1678 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a bad debt deduction to doctors to partially offset the cost of providing uncompensated care required to be provided under amendments made by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
• HR1680 – To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to promote professional retrofit installation of fire alarm detection systems and other fire detection and prevention technologies in nursing homes, hospice facilities, and other appropriate facilities.
• S-678 – A bill to reauthorize and improve the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, and for other purposes.
• S-679 – A bill to establish a research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program to promote research of appropriate technologies for heavy duty plug-in hybrid vehicles, and for other purposes.
• S-680 – A bill to limit Federal emergency economic assistance payments to certain recipients.  [Such a Bill should not be necessary.  No person or entity should receive emergency economic assistance.  Read Davy Crockett vs. Welfare.]
• S-681 – A bill to provide for special rules relating to assistance concerning the Greensburg, Kansas tornado.

• S-682 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve mental and behavioral health services on college campuses.
• S-683 – A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide individuals with disabilities and older Americans with equal access to community-based attendant services and supports, and for other purposes.
• S-684 – A bill to provide the Coast Guard and NOAA with additional authorities under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, to strengthen the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and for other purposes.
• S-685 – A bill to require new vessels for carrying oil fuel to have double hulls, and for other purposes.
• S-686 – A bill to establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to advise Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on policy issues associated with the profession of social work, to authorize the Secretary to make grants to support recruitment for, and retention, research, and reinvestment in, the profession, and for other purposes.
• S-1694 – To amend the American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 to establish a battlefield acquisition grant program for the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and for other purposes.
• HR1696 – To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently prohibit the conduct of offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic planning areas.
• HR1697 – To ensure the coordination and integration of Indian tribes in the National Homeland Security strategy and to establish an Office of Tribal Government Homeland Security within the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.
• HR1698 – To establish the Green Bank to assist in the financing of qualified clean energy projects and qualified energy efficiency projects.
• HR282 – Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel
• HR283 – Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel
• HR284 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that all Americans should participate in a moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of members of the United States Armed Forces both at home and abroad.
• HR285 – Congratulating the people of the Republic of Lithuania on the 1000th anniversary of Lithuania and celebrating the rich history of Lithuania.
• HCR78 – Expressing the support of the Congress regarding the need to facilitate State innovation in national health care reform.
• S-687 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to permit direct payment under the Medicare program for clinical social worker services provided to residents of skilled nursing facilities.
• S-688 – A bill to require that health plans provide coverage for a minimum hospital stay for mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer and coverage for secondary consultations.
• HCR79 – Expressing the sense of Congress that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued to honor Wilton “Wilt” Chamberlain.
• SR84 – A resolution urging the Government of Canada to end the commercial seal hunt.
• HCR80 – Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha.
• HR1682 – To amend title 23, United States Code, to require States to develop and implement highway bridge management systems.
• HR1683 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by requiring a Federal emission permit for the sale or use of greenhouse gas emission substances, and for other purposes.
• HR1685 – To provide for the acquisition, construction, and improvement of child care facilities, and for other purposes.
• HR1687 – To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at McKinley Avenue and Third Street, SW., Canton, Ohio, as the “Ralph Regula Federal Building and United States Courthouse”.
• HR1689 – To accelerate the development and early deployment of systems for the capture and storage of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel electric generation facilities, and for other purposes.

Each bill introduced takes countless hours to be drafted, typed up, disseminated, put through the various stages of the process, all costing time and money.  Do you want your tax dollars being spent on this stuff?

Please take a couple of minutes out of your day to contact your representatives via telephone simply to tell them that you support or oppose a particular bill.  It’ll most likely take you less than two minutes, and it’s so very important that we stand up to our increasingly tyrannical government.

If you don’t know who your Senators are, or how to contact them, click here to found out.

If you don’t know who your Representatives are, or how to contact them, click here to find out.