Liberty Maven

Yesterday in Congress, fifty-one 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]:

• HCR89 – Supporting the goals and objectives of the Prague Conference on Holocaust Era Assets.
• HCR86 – Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the unveiling of a bust of Sojourner Truth.
• HCR87 – Observing the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and calling on all responsible nations to uphold the principles of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
• HR298 – Congratulating the on-premise sign industry for its contributions to the success of small businesses.
• HR299 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 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, and throughout the year.
• HR300 – Congratulating Camp Dudley YMCA of Westport, New York, on the occasion of its 125th anniversary.
• HR301 – Honoring the life of Dr.John Hope Franklin

• HR1774 – To incorporate smart grid capability into the Energy Star Program, to reduce peak electric demand, to reauthorize energy efficiency public information program to include Smart Grid information, and for other purposes.
• HR1775 – To provide support to develop career and technical education programs of study and facilities in the areas of renewable energy.
• HR1776 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand the development of quality measures for inpatient hospital services, to implement a performance-based payment methodology for the provision of such services under the Medicare Program, and for other purposes.
• HR1778 – To provide for the establishment of national energy and environmental building retrofit policies for both residential and commercial buildings, and for other purposes.
• HR1779 – To provide for resources for the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes, and for other purposes.
• HR1780 – To amend the Clean Air Act to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions through transportation efficiency.
• HR1781 – To direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a sustainability workforce training and education program.
• HR1782 – To amend the Truth in Lending Act to protect consumers from certain practices in connection with the origination of consumer credit transactions secured by the consumer’s principal dwelling, and for other purposes.
• HR1783 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage investment in certain industries by providing an exclusion from tax on certain gains.
• HR1784 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage the purchase of residential property by providing an exclusion from tax on certain gains.
• HR1785 – To expedite adjudication of employer petitions for aliens of extraordinary artistic ability.
• HR1786 – To establish a Best-in-Class Appliances Deployment Program
• HR1787 – To amend the Clean Air Act regarding transportation fuels and establishment of a low carbon fuel standard.
• HR1789 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives to encourage investment in the expansion of freight rail infrastructure capacity and to enhance modal tax equity.
• HR1790 – To reduce global greenhouse gas emissions resulting from land conversion and deforestation in developing countries, to provide incentives for developing countries to increase forest carbon stocks, and for other purposes.
• HR1791 – To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize certain aliens who have earned a Ph.D. degree from a United States institution of higher education in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics to be admitted for permanent residence and to be exempted from the numerical limitations on H-1B nonimmigrants.
• HR1792 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide recruitment and retention incentives for volunteer emergency service workers.
• HR1794 – To provide incentives to reduce dependence on foreign oil
• HR1795 – To provide for the establishment of an Offsets Integrity Advisory Board, and for other purposes.
• HR1796 – To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to require residential carbon monoxide detectors to meet the applicable ANSI/UL standard by treating that standard as a consumer product safety rule, to encourage States to require the installation of such detectors in homes, and for other purposes.
• HR1797 – To reform certain provisions of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to make compliance with that section more efficient, with the goal of maintaining United States capital market global competitiveness.  [The only appropriate "reform" for this heinous law would be to repeal it.]
• HR1799 – To amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to vehicle weight limitations applicable to the Interstate System, and for other purposes.
• HR1801 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a 70 percent tax on certain compensation received from certain companies receiving Federal bailout funds.
• HR297 – Recognizing May 25, 2009, as National Missing Children’s Day
• S-735 – A bill to ensure States receive adoption payments for fiscal year 2008 in accordance with the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.
• S-737 – A bill to amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to conduct research, development, and demonstration to make biofuels more compatible with small nonroad engines, and for other purposes.
• S-738 – A bill 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.
• S-739 – A bill to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study drywall imported from China in 2004 through 2007, and for other purposes.
• S-740 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the homebuyer tax credit, and for other purposes.  [All these "tax credits" may sound good, but tinking with an unethical looting operation isn't the best solution.  Plus, things like this are simply designed to control the way you act, and usually have disastrous consequences.]
• S-742 – A bill to expand the boundary of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in the State of Georgia, to redesignate the unit as a National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
• S-743 – A bill to require air carriers to provide training for flight attendants and gate attendants regarding serving alcohol, recognizing intoxicated passengers, and dealing with disruptive passengers, and for other purposes.
• SR90 – A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Fifth Summit of the Americas, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 18, and 19, 2009.
• SR91 – A resolution calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to take action on issues relating to drywall imported from China.

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.