Liberty Maven

Yesterday in Congress, a whopping seventy-eight new bills were introduced.  Due to recent controversy, and for those who start reading this series of articles in the middle, I will include the following boilerplate information in every article.

When taking a look at the list below, keep in mind that the U.S. Constitution, which created our Federal Government, clearly enumerated 18 specific functions that it is given.  For all other things, the 9th and 10th amendment make it clear that the individual states have the power.  Note that it states in the Constitution that it is the Supreme Law of the Land, which can be usurped by no other.  This means that all opinions to the contrary made by the Supreme Court are technically invalid.  Throughout the past couple of hundred hears the Supreme Court has rule one way or another on some “interpretation” of the Constitution, but in fact no interpretation is necessary, as the intention of the founding fathers are quite clear.  For example, if the “general welfare” clause or the “interstate commerce” clause was intended to be used as a catch-all for any arbitrary piece of legislation, then the 10th amendments which reads:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

would be completely meaningless.  So simple logic, in addition to the writings of Madison and other founding fathers, dictates the notion that the Federal Government was set up to have very little power, and that these United States are intended to be a loose federation of sovereign states.

Only due to politician’s greed and overwhelming desire for power does the Constitution get relegated to the trash heap.

So, despite the  noble intentions of many of these bills, it doesn’t mean they are legal.

Of the bills introduced yesterday, these are ones that are clearly not legitimate functions of the Federal Government  [as always, my commentary will appear in red]:

• HR293 – Commending Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils for breaking the National Hockey League all time regular season wins record.  [I'm glad our "public servants" have nothing more important to do...]
• SR86 – A resolution designating April 18, 2009, as “National Auctioneers Day”  [Are you kidding me?]
• SR87 – A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the Nation during Public Service Recognition Week, May 4 through 10, 2009.  [Oh, that is rich!]
• HR1728 – To amend the Truth in Lending Act to reform consumer mortgage practices and provide accountability for such practices, to provide certain minimum standards for consumer mortgage loans, and for other purposes.  [There is already way too much red time when buying a house.  Whatever happened to caveat emptor?]
• HR1729 – To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to provide for the treatment of institutions of higher education as voter registration agencies.
• HR1730 – To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 with respect to electric vehicle infrastructure.
• HR1731 – To amend the Truth in Lending Act to require any creditor who transfers, sells, or conveys certain residential mortgage loans to third parties to retain an economic interest in a material portion of the credit risk for any such loan, and for other purposes.
• HR1732 – To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide for standards for energy efficient outdoor lighting.

• HR1735 – To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the direct payment of attorney fees to the attorney representing a prevailing party in certain Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income claims, and for other purposes.
• HR1736 – To provide for the establishment of a committee to identify and coordinate international science and technology cooperation that can strengthen the domestic science and technology enterprise and support United States foreign policy goals.
• HR1738 – To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the city of Downey, California, regional wastewater treatment and reclamation facility projects.
• HR1740 - To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase awareness of the risks of breast cancer in young women and provide support for young women diagnosed with breast cancer.
• HR1742 – To establish a program to deploy and integrate plug-in electric drive vehicles in multiple regions.
• HR1743 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the renewable energy credit, and for other purposes.
• HR1744 – To amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act to assure meaningful disclosures of the terms of rental-purchase agreements, including disclosures of all costs to consumers under such agreements, to provide certain substantive rights to consumers under such agreements, and for other purposes.
• HR1745 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide liability protections for volunteer practitioners at health centers under section 330 of such Act.
• HR1746 – To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to reauthorize the pre-disaster mitigation program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• HR1747 – To authorize appropriations for the design, acquisition, and construction of a combined buoy tender-icebreaker to replace icebreaking capacity on the Great Lakes.
• HR1748 – To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance the investigation and prosecution of mortgage fraud and financial institution fraud, and for other purposes.
• HR1749 – To provide assistance to owners of manufactured homes constructed prior to 1976 to purchase Energy Star qualified manufactured homes.
• HR1751 (also S-729) – To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes.
• HR1754 – To create a systemic risk monitor for the financial system of the United States, to oversee financial regulatory activities of the Federal Government, and for other purposes.
• HR1755 – To award grants to States to establish, enhance, or expand high-quality preschool programs for children ages 3 through 5 in rural areas.
• HR1756 – To amend the Small Business Act to improve the Microloan program, and for other purposes.
• HR1760 – To mitigate the effects of black carbon emissions in the United States and throughout the world.
• HR1764 – To require that amounts of assistance provided to financial institutions under the Troubled Asset Relief Program of the Secretary of the Treasury that are returned be used only for assistance for homeowners in accordance with the Making Home Affordable Program of the Secretary.
• HR1765 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect to payment for the furnishing of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) in a patient’s home for the treatment of primary immune deficiency diseases and to cover certain disposable pumps as durable medical equipment in place of non-disposable pumps under the Medicare Program.
• HR1766 – To amend title 40, United States Code, to authorize the use of Federal supply schedules for the acquisition of environmentally preferable “green” commodities and services and certain other related items by State and local governments.
• HCR84 – Supporting the goals and objectives of a National Military Appreciation Month
• HR1768 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for replacing an automobile with a more fuel-efficient automobile.
• HR1769 – To expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes.
• HR1770 (also S-723) – To amend the National Dam Safety Program Act to establish a program to provide grant assistance to States for the rehabilitation and repair of deficient dams.
• HR1771 – To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.
• HR1773 – Valerie Plame Wilson Compensation Act
• HCR83 – Expressing the sense of Congress that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Navy, either the aircraft carrier designated as CVN-79 or the aircraft carrier designated as CVN-80, should be named the U.S.S. Barry M. Goldwater.
• HR1727 – To establish guidelines and incentives for States to establish criminal arsonist and criminal bomber registries and to require the Attorney General to establish a national criminal arsonist and criminal bomber registry program, and for other purposes.
• HR1750 – To provide for the use of information in the National Directory of New Hires in enforcing sex offender registration laws.
• HR1757 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage increased access to alternative fuels.
• HR1758 – To provide for the establishment of a commission to stimulate and engage in an informed, national, and public dialogue about how to ensure that each student in the United States receives an equitable education that enables the student to achieve his or her maximum academic potential.
• HR1759 – To distribute emission allowances under a domestic cap-and-trade program to facilities in certain domestic energy-intensive industrial sectors and subsectors to prevent an increase in greenhouse gas emissions by manufacturing facilities located in countries without commensurate greenhouse gas regulation, and for other purposes.
• S-712 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve the Medicare program for beneficiaries residing in rural areas.
• S-714 – A bill to establish the National Criminal Justice Commission
• S-715 – A bill to establish a pilot program to provide for the preservation and rehabilitation of historic lighthouses.
• S-716 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to preserve care for ventilator-dependent patients.
• S-718 – A bill to amend the Legal Services Corporation Act to meet special needs of eligible clients, provide for technology grants, improve corporate practices of the Legal Services Corporation, and for other purposes.
• S-719 – A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to notify surface estate owners in cases in which the leasing of Federal minerals underlying the land are to be used for oil and gas development.
• S-721 – A bill to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Ricer and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes.
• S-723 – A bill to prohibit the introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of novelty lighters, and for other purposes.
• S-726 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the licensing of biosimilar and biogeneric biological products, and for other purposes.
• S-727 – A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain conduct relating to the use of horses for human consumption.
• S-733 – A bill to ensure the continued and future availability of life saving trauma health care in the United States and to prevent further trauma center closures and downgrades by assisting trauma centers with uncompensated care costs, core mission services, and emergency needs.
• S-717 – A bill to modernize cancer research, increase access to preventative cancer services, provide cancer treatment and survivorship initiatives, and for other purposes.
• HR1761 – To amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to restrict the use of TARP funds for domestic purposes.
• HR288 – Recognizing the importance of park and recreation facilities and expressing support for the designation of the month of July as “National Park and Recreation Month”.
• HR290 – Honoring the lives, and mourning the loss, of Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege, members of the Oakland Police Department in California who were brutally slain in the line of duty.
• HR291 – Recognizing the crucial role of assistance dogs in helping wounded veterans live more independent lives, expressing gratitude to The Tower of Hope, and supporting the goals and ideals of creating a Tower of Hope Day.
• HR292 – Congratulating the on-premise sign industry for its contributions to the success of small businesses on the occasion of its 63rd Annual International Sign Expo.

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.  So even if the bill seems minor, such as SR85 (”Congratulating…”), it costs you 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.