!!! HIGH ALERT !!!
LAME DUCK SESSION of Congress
Begins November 15
LAME DUCK SESSION of Congress
Begins November 15
Look out! A new lame duck session of Congress begins on November 15. This session is the last chance for several terrible bills to be pushed through before many lame duck legislators are sent home for good.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who surprising escaped the lame duck branding amid questions of election fraud, is expected bring Cap and Trade (H.R. 2454) up for a vote. The House of Representatives already passed the bill back on June 26, 2009. It has been on the back burner ever since. Cap and Trade has been such a controversial bill that Senate Democrats did not want to be on record voting for it going into the November election. If the Harry Reid does not pass the bill in the lame duck session, the bill dies, and the Democrats would face little chance of passing it next year. They would have to reintroduce it into the House of Representatives which will no longer be under their control.
Look out for Senator Dick Durbin to push forward the DREAM Act, which is a pro-amnesty bill for children of illegal aliens.
There is a Defense Authorization Bill which has embedded in it a repeal of the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The repeal would allow gays to openly serve in the military.
Expect Joe Lieberman to push his Cybersecurity Bill (S. 3480) , which we covered in July's update. The bill essentially gives the President the power to seize control of, or shut down the internet. Besides the huge economic and social disruptions, a shutdown of the internet would cut off sources of independent news from the people, and it would effectively take away much of the exercise of First Amendment rights we are so accustomed to today via the internet.
There is also a push for the ratification a New Start nuclear armament reductions treaty with Russia. This bill actually could be something positive out of this Congress. Maintaining the current level of U.S. nuclear weapons is costing a lot of money when the U.S. is already broke. Equitable reduction of nuclear armaments on both sides would be one of many needed steps toward fiscal sanity.
The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are slated to expire unless renewed by the end of the year. Harry Reid has indicated that Democrats would likely vote against a wholesale extension of the tax cuts. He said Democrats would agree to extending the cuts for middle-class families, Reid said, but allowing them for wealthy Americans “is not going to happen” because it would "cost" $4 trillion. Lately, the definition of wealthy has been anyone married earning $250k, or single, $200k, annually. This is the expected for the Democrats to apply for the renewal cut-off point.
Also look for the fake "food safety" bills S. 510, and S. 3767 to possible come to a vote.
An article posted on The Hill mentions some additional legislative items that could be brought up in the lame duck session.
Virginia Legislation
Although the next session of the Virginia legislature doesn't begin until January 12, 2011, there are some bills being lined up to be introduced for that session. Delegate Bob Marshall pre-filed to introduce a bill that is to be a nullification measure to carbon emissions regulation provisions in the pending federal Cap and Trade bill. Marshall's bill is HB 1397.
Delegate Bill Carrico is expected to reintroduce the Firearms Freedom bill which had failed to pass in the last legislative session. The bill would prevent the federal government from regulating firearms and ammunition that is produced and sold within Virginia's borders.
The Virginia Campaign for Liberty is proposing a bill to repeal the invasive land use policy in HB 3202 that was passed in 2007 to comply with the United Nations Agenda 21 plan for "sustainable development". More details about HB 3202 can be found here.
Potential for New Fed Oversight
In the redux of the November midterm elections, Govtrack.us reports that House Representative Ron Paul appears to be in line to be the next Chairman on the House subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology. This subcommittee has the purview to investigate Federal Reserve on its monetary policy.
Last legislative session Ron Paul's H.R. 1207 bill to audit the Federal Reserve had garnered 320 cosponsors and passed the House, only to be effectively stripped out of the "Financial Reform" bill and replaced by audit measures that were severely limited for only a one-time application.
Representative Paul, with this expected position as the subcommittee chairman would have subpoena powers to finally pursue a long overdue investigation of the Fed's actions that have been hidden behind closed doors.
