Tuesday, March 29, 2011

"Entitled" To Chains

From The CATO Institute:

'Entitled' to Chains


by Kent Masterson Brown





Kent Masterson Brown is the lead plaintiff attorney in Hall v. Sebelius and author of the Cato Institute white paper, "The Freedom to Spend Your Own Money on Medical Care: A Common Ca sualty of Universal Coverage."

Added to cato.org on March 25, 2011



This article appeared in The New York Post on March 25, 2011.



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The Constitution grants only to Congress the power to legislate. There is no greater threat to our delicate system of government than when federal courts allow unelected bureaucrats to make up their own laws. Yet last week, federal Judge Rosemary Collyer did just that.



The ruling has ominous implications for ObamaCare, enacted one year ago but not yet in full effect: This decision would allow the "health reform" law to become even more Orwellian than it already is, without any action from Congress.



In a case where I served as chief attorney for the plaintiffs, Judge Collyer allowed to stand three internal rules of the Social Security Administration that make receipt of Social Security retirement benefits contingent upon enrollment in Medicare. Plus, a person who withdraws from Medicare would not only have to give up Social Security retirement benefits, but repay all benefits previously received.



Kent Masterson Brown is the lead plaintiff attorney in Hall v. Sebelius and author of the Cato Institute white paper, "The Freedom to Spend Your Own Money on Medical Care: A Common Ca sualty of Universal Coverage."



All the plaintiffs had paid into Social Security and Medicare throughout their working lives. They were eligible for both programs, but they didn't want to enroll in Medicare because they had their own savings and health-insurance programs that they preferred.



Three of the plaintiffs had Federal Employee Health Benefits, and two of them had health-savings accounts. Two plaintiffs have ample savings and high-deductible health-insurance policies. None of the plaintiffs sought to get any of their Medicare taxes back; they simply don't want to enroll in Medicare — but do desire their Social Security retirement benefits.



Thanks to Collyer's ruling, though, the plaintiffs are now forced into Medicare and will have to give up their private health plans and health savings accounts. (The ruling still allows private "MediGap" coverage to supplement Medicare.) Indeed, all seniors now must enroll in Medicare, Part A, whether they want it or not. If they don't, their Social Security retirement benefits will be taken from them.



This decision flies in the face of the law: The Social Security and Medicare Acts specify that the receipt of benefits in each program is entirely "voluntary." In both acts, Congress directed that if a person meets the prerequisites (age, payments into the programs, etc.), he or she "shall be entitled" to the benefits.



Collyer admitted that "entitlement" normally means "to give legal right ... to, qualify for something." But then she opined: "This is a different type of entitlement."



Adding to the bizarreness, the judge thereby completely contradicted her own rul ing in the same case, 18 months before. Back then, she asserted that rules written by the Social Security Administration are indeed different from the Social Security and Medicare Acts.



More, Collyer wrote that Congress did "not link withdrawal from Social Security benefits with withdrawal from Medicare, Part A, and that neither the [Social Security] statute nor regulation specifies that [persons] must withdraw from and repay [Social Security] retirement benefits in order to withdraw from Medicare, Part A."



Why did the bureaucrats' rules conflict with the law then, but not now?



The practical effect of the ruling is ominous. Entitlements established in a host of federal statutes may now become mandatory. Will we all be compelled to take all kinds of government benefits to which "we may be entitled"?



More immediately, whether they want it or not, seniors will now be forced into Medicare, a program that even Judge Collyer asserts "may bankrupt all of us." Indeed, she also noted, rightly, that people on Medicare are not treated as well in hospitals as those with private insurance.



Yet her latest opinion condemns all retired Americans to that miserable state.



Consider, too, the impact on ObamaCare. That 2,000-plus-page law is literally filled with directives for the Department of Health and Human Services to enforce the program. Literally hundreds of new regulations and rules, impacting every aspect of every American's life, health and behavior, must be promulgated.



And those decisions will be by the very same bureaucrats whose outrageous rules Collyer just upheld. If her ruling stands, they'll have carte blanche to write them as they please — even in plain contradiction of the law's clear meaning.



We appealed our case, Hall v. Sebelius, to the US Court of Appeals this week. Let's all hope that the higher courts strike a blow for common sense and good law — or we all may find ourselves "entitled" to lots of things we don't want.



Monday, March 28, 2011

Overcriminalized.com Legilative Update

From Overcriminalized.com:

Table of Contents




New:



H.R. 1200: American Health Security Act of 2011

H.R. 1174: Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act

H.R. 1144: Transparency and Openness in Government Act

H.R. 1127: Children's Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act

H.R. 1112: National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2011

S. 601: Children's Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act

S. Amendment 191:



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H.R. 1200: American Health Security Act of 2011



Sponsor: McDermott (D - WA)



Official Title: To provide for health care for every American and to control the cost and enhance the quality of the health care system.



Status:

3/17/2011: Introduced in House

3/17/2011: Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee

3/17/2011: Referred to House Ways and Means Committee

3/17/2011: Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

3/17/2011: Referred to House Armed Services Committee

3/17/2011: Referred to House Education and the Workforce Committee



Commentary: This bill would repeal Title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act dealing with state exchanges and would establish in its place a State-Based American Health Security Program that would oversee a new "universal entitlement" to benefits for certain health care services, including community health, preventative care, long-term care, dental, and substance abuse treatment services. The bill also makes the fraud and abuse provisions of the Social Security Act (SSA) applicable to the health security programs "in the same manner as they apply to State medical assistance plans under title XIX" of the SSA. Specifically, this would make the criminal provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b applicable to false statements, misrepresentations, bribes, kickbacks, or other fraudulent behavior perpetrated by individuals participating in the state-based programs. "Knowing and willful" violators of these provisions would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to five years imprisonment, fines of up to $25,000, or both. In addition, convicted violators of these provisions could have their future ability to benefit from the "universal entitlement" program limited, restricted, or suspended. Despite the requirement that criminal violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b be both "knowing and willful," the language of the section was modified in 2010 to undermine this protection by stating that "with respect to violations of this section, a person need not have actual knowledge of this section or specific intent to commit a violation." The level of criminal intent necessary to establish a violation of these provisions of the SSA (and thus under H.R. 1200) is therefore lower and less protective than the stated standard of "knowingly and willfully."





H.R. 1174: Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act



Sponsor: Campbell (R - CA)



Official Title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide for the licensing of Internet gambling activities by the Secretary of the Treasury, to provide for consumer protections on the Internet, to enforce the tax code, and for other purposes.



Status:

3/17/2011: Introduced in House

3/17/2011: Referred to House Financial Services Committee

3/17/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee

3/17/2011: Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee



Commentary: This bill establishes an internet gambling licensing program to be administered and enforced by the Secretary of the Treasury. Licensees under the program would be permitted to legally accept bets or wagers from persons located in the United States, subject to certain specified limitations. H.R. 1174 would also criminalize the knowing use of "electronic cheating devices" with the purpose of obtaining an advantage in any authorized internet gambling game by any person "initiating, receiving, or otherwise making a bet or wager with a licensee, or sending, receiving, or inviting information assisting with a bet or wager with a licensee." Assisting another individual with the knowing use of electronic cheating devices for such purposes would also be considered a criminal violation. H.R. 1174 would also make it a criminal offense for any individual "initiating, receiving, or otherwise making a bet or wager with a licensee, or sending, receiving, or inviting information assisting with a bet or wager with a licensee [to] knowingly ... use or possess any cheating device with intent to cheat or defraud any licensee or other persons placing bets or wagers with such licensees." Each of these criminal provisions would be punishable by criminal sanctions of up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both.





H.R. 1144: Transparency and Openness in Government Act



Sponsor: Cummings (D - MD)



Official Title: A bill to increase the transparency of the federal government, and for other purposes.



Status:

3/17/2011: Introduced in House

3/17/2011: Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee



Commentary: This bill would make amendments to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the Presidential Records Act (44 U.S.C. § 2201 et al.), and current electronic message preservation procedures to ease restrictions on public access to certain types of federal government documents. A section of H.R. 1144, which is nearly identical to H.R. 36 from the 111th Congress, also seeks to subject Presidential library fundraising organizations to increased reporting requirements and scrutiny from the Federal Election Commission. Specifically, the bill would require Presidential library fundraising organizations to report all contributions over $200 and would criminalize the knowing and willful submission of false or incomplete information with respect to such contributions. Violations of this provision would be punishable by criminal sanctions of up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. H.R. 1144 would also criminalize making contributions in another's name, permitting one's own name to be used to affect a contribution by another, and accepting donations made by one person in the name of another. Violations of these provisions would be punishable under section 309(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 (2 U.S.C. § 437g(d)) in the same manner as if they were violations of section 316(b)(3) of FECA (2 U.S.C. § 441b(b)(3)), which authorizes criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both in instances involving aggregate contributions valued at more than $250 and less than $25,000. Violations involving aggregate contributions worth $25,000 or more could be punished with criminal sanctions of up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both.





H.R. 1127: Children's Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act



Sponsor: Pascrell (D - NJ)



Official Title: A bill to encourage and ensure the use of safe football helmets and for other purposes.



Status:

3/16/2011: Introduced in House

3/16/2011: Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee



Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to S. 601, requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to evaluate voluntary safety standards and promulgate consumer product safety regulations for youth football helmets, reconditioned football helmets, and new football helmet concussion resistance systems. In addition, S. 601 makes it unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, or import "any item of equipment intended, designed, or offered for use by an individual engaged in any athletic sporting activity, whether professional or amateur, for which the seller or importer, or any person acting on behalf of the seller or importer, makes any false or misleading claim with respect to the safety benefits of such item." Violations of this provision would be treated as if they contravene the prohibitions of section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. § 57a) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Any such violations would thus be enforceable through FTC civil actions as well as through criminal referral to the Department of Justice under 15 U.S.C. § 46(k).





H.R. 1112: National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2011



Sponsor: Neugebauer (R - TX)



Official Title: To reform the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, and for other purposes.



Status:

3/16/2011: Introduced in House

3/16/2011: Referred to House Financial Services Committee



Commentary: This bill is nearly identical to H.R. 2554 from the 111th Congress, which was introduced by Congressman David Scott (D-GA). H.R. 1112 would establish the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, a non-profit corporation, to "provide a mechanism through which licensing, continued education, and other nonresident insurance producer qualification requirements and conditions can be adopted and applied on a multi-state basis." In order to become a member of the association, an insurance producer would be required to undergo a national criminal background check that complies with regulations prescribed by the Attorney General of the United States. Whoever "knowingly uses" background check information provided by the Attorney General for an unauthorized purpose, or discloses such information to someone not authorized to receive it, would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to two years of imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both.





S. 601: Children's Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act



Sponsor: Udall (D - NM)



Official Title: A bill to encourage and ensure the use of safe football helmets and for other purposes.



Status:

3/16/2011: Introduced in Senate

3/16/2011: Referred to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee



Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to H.R. 1127, requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to evaluate voluntary safety standards and promulgate consumer product safety regulations for youth football helmets, reconditioned football helmets, and new football helmet concussion resistance systems. In addition, S. 601 makes it unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, or import "any item of equipment intended, designed, or offered for use by an individual engaged in any athletic sporting activity, whether professional or amateur, for which the seller or importer, or any person acting on behalf of the seller or importer, makes any false or misleading claim with respect to the safety benefits of such item." Violations of this provision would be treated as if they contravene the prohibitions of section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. § 57a) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Any such violations would thus be enforceable through FTC civil actions as well as through criminal referral to the Department of Justice under 15 U.S.C. § 46(k).





S. Amendment 191:



Sponsor: Casey (D - PA)



Official Title:



Status:

3/15/2011: Introduced in Senate



Commentary: This amendment is proposed for S. 493 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011) and is nearly identical in substance to S. 370, which was also introduced by Senator Casey. The amendment would modify Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) to require that an offeror who is awarded a government contract with a Federal agency notify all small business concerns of their inclusion as potential subcontractors in the offer at issue. S. Amendment 191 would require any offeror that "intends to identify a small business concern as a potential subcontractor in the offer relating to the contract" to (1) notify the small business concern that the offeror intends to identify them as a potential subcontractor in the offer, and (2) include with the offer a written acknowledgment by the small business concern that the notice has been received. Violations of this provision would initially be punishable by a fine equivalent to 20 percent of the value of the contract at issue. Subsequent violations would be punishable by a fine equal to 50 percent of the value of the contract at issue or by debarment from contracting with the United States government for a period of one year. Three-time violators of the provisions of S. 370 would be subject to permanent debarment from contracting with the United States government.



Friday, March 18, 2011

Overcriminalized.com Legislative Update

From Overcriminalized.com:

Table of Contents




New:



H.R. 1050: Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2011

H.R. 964: Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act

H.R. 950: Ticket Act

S. 523:



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H.R. 1050: Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2011



Sponsor: Johnson (R - TX)



Official Title: To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to improve access and choice for entrepreneurs with small businesses with respect to medical care for their employees.



Status:

3/11/2011: Introduced in House

3/11/2011: Referred to House Education and the Workforce Committee



Commentary: This bill is nearly identical to H.R. 2607 in the 111th Congress, which Representative Johnson also introduced. Like H.R. 2607, H.R. 1050 would allow businesses and other organizations to offer their employees or members health insurance coverage through new mechanisms known as "association health plans." In conjunction with this framework, H.R. 1050 creates a new criminal offense that would punish individuals or entities for willfully misrepresenting any other kind of health insurance plan or arrangement as an association health plan. Violations of this provision would be punishable by criminal sanctions of up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both.





H.R. 964: Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act



Sponsor: Bishop (D - NY)



Official Title: To protect consumers from price-gouging of gasoline and other fuels, and for other purposes.



Status:

3/9/2011: Introduced in House

3/9/2011: Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee



Commentary: This bill, nearly identical to H.R. 2129 in the 111th Congress, would criminalize certain fuel sales during presidentially declared "energy emergencies" based on the amorphous and subjective civil-law standard of unconscionability. Retail and wholesale fuel sellers could be criminally punished if the federal government determines - based on a post-hoc analysis of the market - that the fuel price was "unconscionably excessive." H.R. 964 specifically prohibits the sale of gasoline or any other petroleum distillate "during a period of an international crisis affecting the oil markets" at a price that is "unconscionably excessive ... and [that] indicates that the seller is taking unfair advantage of the circumstances related to an international crisis to increase prices unreasonably." Violations of this prohibition would be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. § 41 et al.) and would be punishable by civil penalties and criminal fines of up to $500 million under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Unlike H.R. 2129, which differentiated between corporate and individual violators for the purposes of criminal punishment, H.R. 964 subjects corporations and individuals to the same maximum criminal sanction. H.R. 964's criminal provisions do not authorize imprisonment for violators, however.





H.R. 950: Ticket Act



Sponsor: Matheson (D - UT)



Official Title: To prohibit restrictions on the resale of event tickets sold in interstate commerce as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.



Status:

3/8/2011: Introduced in House

3/8/2011: Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee



Commentary: This bill seeks to override state and local prohibitions on the resale of event tickets by subjecting them to the requirements of the unfair and deceptive trade practices provisions of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act (15 U.S.C. § 41 et al.). Specifically, H.R. 950 makes it unlawful for any ticket issuer to "prohibit or restrict the resale or offering for resale of an event ticket by a lawful possessor thereof" or to "engage in the primary or resale market for event ticket sales ... without complying with the consumer protection minimum standards specified ... with regard to event ticket sales." Violations of these provisions would be treated as a "violation of a rule under Section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices." The bill would allow states to enforce these provisions through civil parens patriae actions on behalf of the party or parties allegedly injured and permit the FTC to enforce these provisions "in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers and duties, as though all applicable provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act." These prohibitions would thus be enforceable through FTC civil actions as well as through criminal referral to the Department of Justice under 15 U.S.C. § 46(k). H.R. 950 also seeks to preempt state and local anti-scalping laws except in a few specified circumstances.





S. 523:



Sponsor: Schumer (D - NY)



Official Title: A bill to provide for enhanced criminal penalties for individuals who file a SEVP certification petition under false pretenses.



Status:

3/9/2011: Introduced in Senate

3/9/2011: Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee



Commentary: This bill would increase the applicable criminal penalty for individuals who commit visa fraud by filing a petition for certification or recertification with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) under false pretenses. Specifically, S. 523 would make it a federal crime for a person "representing himself or herself as a principal, officer, or director of an educational institution" to "knowingly, and for pecuniary gain" file under false pretenses a "petition for certification or recertification with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program for attendance at such institution of nonimmigrant students." Attempted false pretense filings or conspiracy to file fraudulent SEVP petitions would also be subject to criminal sanction under the bill. Violations of any of S. 523's criminal provisions would be punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. This bill would provide federal prosecutors with yet another statutory basis for prosecuting alleged incidents of visa fraud despite the fact that such violations are already punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1546, 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and 18 U.S.C. § 371, among other statutes and regulations.





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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Congressional GOP Moves To Stop EPA's Cap And Trade Reglations

From Human Events:

Congressional GOP Move to Stop EPA's Cap and Trade Regulations


by Emily Miller



03/15/2011







The House and Senate Republicans both moved forward on Tuesday to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse emissions. The Obama administration has started implementing new regulations which tax businesses and raise gas prices for consumers to pursue its climate change agenda.



The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910) on Tuesday by a vote of 34-19. Three Democrats on the committee supported the bill: Jim Matheson (Utah), John Barrow (Ga.) and Mike Ross (Ark.).



“The Energy Tax Prevention Act is about gas prices, and stopping the EPA from driving them even higher,” committee Chairman Fred Upton (R.-Mich.) told HUMAN EVENTS exclusively after the vote.



“This legislation is about our economy, and stopping the EPA from imposing the tremendous cost of runaway regulations. And this legislation is about protecting American workers, and stopping the EPA from shipping our jobs overseas,” said Upton.



Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R.-Va.) said on Monday that the EPA bill will be voted on by the full House before the Easter recess.



In the Senate, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) introduced the identical bill as an amendment to the small business bill, which was debated on Tuesday.



“In an effort to prevent the administration from adding yet another burdensome, job-destroying regulation through the back door, we’ll have a vote on whether at a time of rising gas prices and growing concern about the scope of government, we should allow the White House to impose new energy regulations through the EPA,” said McConnell.



McConnell’s amendment is the same legislation as the House version. It was originally a bill sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe (R.-Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Inhofe’s bill had 43 co-sponsors, including one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.).



“For the last nine years, we have been fighting the Cap and Trade battle and the assumption that catastrophic global warming is going to come from emissions of greenhouse gasses,” Inhofe told reporters.



In June 2009, the House Democrats passed cap-and-trade (or “cap-and-tax”) by seven votes, but the bill died in the Senate. But in December, when the Republicans were about to take control of the House, the Obama administration instituted new EPA regulations to put cap and trade policies into effect.



The EPA used the Clean Air Act as a vehicle for the regulations which impose a tax in the form of carbon emissions to businesses to regulate their greenhouse gasses. Inhofe predicted that, without this legislation, the EPA’s cap-and-trade regulations would increase taxes from $300 to $400 billion a year.



The House’s Energy Tax Prevention Act stops the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases and impose the taxes, in both current regulations and future efforts. The bill, in essence, prohibits the Obama administration from enacting cap-and-trade policies through regulations, after failing to do so through legislation.



“We will not allow unelected EPA bureaucrats to regulate a backdoor cap-and-trade scheme that the Democrat Congress failed to legislate last year,” Upton told HUMAN EVENTS.



EPA regulations of carbon dioxide emissions that come from coal, oil, and natural gas raise the energy cost to consumers and trickles down to increase the cost of everything from gasoline to groceries.



“Our national unemployment rate hovers just below 9 percent and gasoline is heading toward $4 per gallon, yet the EPA is rampantly pursuing regulations that will hemorrhage jobs and wreak havoc on our economy,” said Upton.



Inhofe also said that the environmental regulations will drive up gasoline prices.



“It’s simple supply and demand. The effort right now by the EPA and this administration is to do away with fossil fuels. If you do away with gas and oil domestically, you’ll have to depend on someone else to run this machine called America,” said Inhofe.



After the Upton bill passes the full House, Republicans will link it together to the Senate amendment as the Inhofe/Upton bill.



Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-N.V.) said on Tuesday that the amendment will have a vote “in due time,” although he does not support it. The Senate is expected to vote on it either this week or after next week’s recess.



“It’s my hope that we’ll vote to stop this power grab in its tracks,” said McConnell.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miss Miller is a senior editor of HUMAN EVENTS. Previously, she served as the Deputy Press Secretary at the U.S. Department of State and the Communications Director for the House Majority Whip. Miller also served as an Associate Producer at ABC News and started her career at NBC News. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.



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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Overcriminalized.com Legislative Update

From Overcriminalized.com:

Table of Contents




New:



S. 486: Protecting Servicemembers from Mortgage Abuses Act of 2011



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S. 486: Protecting Servicemembers from Mortgage Abuses Act of 2011



Sponsor: Whitehouse (D - RI)



Official Title: A bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to enhance protections for members of the uniformed services relating to mortgages, mortgage foreclosure, and eviction, and for other purposes.



Status:

3/3/2011: Introduced in Senate

3/3/2011: Referred to Senate Veterans Affairs Committee



Commentary: This bill would amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.) to increase the criminal penalties for landlords and mortgage lienholders who violate the mandates of the Act's property-law protections for active military servicemembers. Currently, the SCRA makes it a criminal misdemeanor for a mortgage lienholder to "knowingly make[] or cause[]" the sale, foreclosure, or seizure of military servicemember property without a proper court order prior to the conclusion of a 90-day grace period following the end of active service (50 U.S.C. App. § 533). Violations of this provision are currently punishable by up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. S. 486 would increase the maximum incarceration penalty for such a violation from a limit of up to one year imprisonment to a maximum of up to two years imprisonment. The SCRA also currently makes it a criminal misdemeanor for a landlord to "knowingly take[] part in an eviction or distress" associated with certain premises that are occupied or intended to be occupied as a residence by a servicemember or the dependents of a servicemember without a proper court order (50 U.S.C. App. § 531). Knowing "attempts to do so" without such a court order are also sanctionable as a criminal misdemeanor under the SCRA. Violations of these eviction or distress provisions are currently punishable by up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. S. 486 would increase the maximum incarceration penalty for these violations from a limit of up to one year imprisonment to a maximum of up to two years imprisonment. The bill also fails to define with adequate clarity what knowledge an accused landlord or mortgage lienholder must have in order to be convicted of its criminal offenses.





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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

GOP Senators Cite Obama's Science Advisor As Having Pushed Belief In Threat From Coming Ice Age In 1970s

From Freedom's Lighthouse:

GOP Senators Cite Obama’s Science Adviser as Having Pushed Belief in Threat from Coming “Ice Age” in 1970′s – Video

Red Tape Rising: Obama's Torrent Of New Regulations

From The Heritage Foundation:

Red Tape Rising: Obama’s Torrent of New RegulationPublished on October 26, 2010 by James Gattuso , Diane Katz and Stephen Keen Backgrounder #2482
Abstract: The burden of regulation on Americans increased at an alarming rate in fiscal year 2010. Based on data from the Government Accountability Office, an unprecedented 43 major new regulations were imposed by Washington. And based on reports from government regulators themselves, the total cost of these rules topped $26.5 billion, far more than any other year for which records are available. These costs will affect Americans in many ways, raising the price of the cars they buy and the food they eat, while destroying an untold number of jobs. With the enactment of new health care laws, financial regulations, and plans for rulemaking in other areas, the regulatory burden on Americans is set to increase even further in the coming year.



The Hidden Tax



The cost of regulation has often been called a hidden tax. Although the total does not appear anywhere in the federal budget, the multitude of rules, restrictions, and mandates imposes a heavy burden on Americans and the U.S. economy. According to a report recently released by the Small Business Administration, total regulatory costs amount to about $1.75 trillion annually, [1] nearly twice as much as all individual income taxes collected last year.[2]



Not all regulations are unwarranted, of course. Most Americans would agree on the need for protections against terrorism, although the extent of such rules is certainly subject to debate. Moreover, regulations are not necessarily inconsistent with free-market principles. Some, such as anti-fraud measures, protect the rights of consumers. But there is always a cost. And, for the same reasons that federal spending is reported, so, too, should regulatory costs.



Record Increases



This regulatory burden has been increasing for some time. During the presidency of George W. Bush, which many mistakenly consider as a period of deregulation, the regulatory burden increased by more than $70 billion, according to agency regulatory impact reports. In FY 2009, which spanned the Bush and Obama Administrations, rulemaking proceeded at a nearly unprecedented rate, with the addition of 23 major rules imposing $13 billion in new costs.[3]



But the available evidence indicates that regulatory costs increased last year at a far greater pace. According to data from the Government Accountability Office, federal agencies promulgated 43 rules during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010,[4] that impose significant burdens on the private sector. The total costs for these rules were estimated by the regulators themselves at some $28 billion, the highest level since at least 1981, the earliest date for which figures are available.[5] Fifteen of the 43 major rules issued last during the fiscal year involved financial regulation. Another five stem from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act adopted by Congress in early 2010. Ten others come from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including the first mandatory reporting of “greenhouse gas” emissions and $10.8 billion in new automotive fuel economy standards (adopted jointly with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)). Overall, counting the fuel standards, the EPA is responsible for the lion’s share of the reported regulatory costs—some $23.2 billion.







Among the most costly of the FY 2010 crop are:



Fuel economy and emission standards[6] for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles imposed jointly by the EPA and NHTSA. Annual cost: $10.8 billion (for model years 2012 to 2016). For automakers to recover these increased outlays, NHTSA estimates the standards will lead to increases in average new vehicle prices ranging from $457 per vehicle in FY 2012 to $985 per vehicle in FY 2016.[7]

Mandated quotas for renewable fuels. Annual cost: $7.8 billion (for 15 years). Utilizing farmland to grow corn and other crops used in renewable fuels will displace food crops, leading food costs to increase by $10 per person per year—or $40 for a family of four, according to the EPA.[8]

Efficiency standards for residential water heaters, heating equipment, and pool heaters. Annual cost: $1.3 billion. The appliance upgrades necessary to comply with the new standards will raise the price of a typical gas storage water heater by $120.[9]

Limits on “effluent” discharges from construction sites imposed by the EPA. Annual cost: $810.8 million. The cost of the requirements will force the closure of 147 construction firms and the loss of 7,257 jobs, according to the EPA. Homebuyers also will bear some of the costs, with an increase in mortgage costs of about $1,953.

Regulatory Reductions Missing in Action



Measures to reduce regulatory burdens, by contrast, were few and far between in FY 2010. Only five significant rulemakings adopted last year reduced burdens. Of these, cost reductions were quantified for only two, for reported savings of $1.5 billion. This leaves a net increase in the regulatory burden of $26.5 billion.



Moreover, one of the five measures—though technically deregulatory in nature—relates to an unparalleled expansion of EPA powers. Due to its determination last year that greenhouse gases are pollutants, the agency is moving to set emissions limits for such gases. To follow the standards in the Clean Air Act would corral millions of currently unregulated “facilities,” including offices and apartment buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, houses of worship, theaters, and sports arenas into the EPA regulatory regime. In hopes of quieting political outrage over so sweeping a dictate, the EPA’s “Tailoring Rule”[10] set a minimum threshold level for regulation. Therefore, fewer facilities would be subject to permit requirements, making imposition of the emissions limits more feasible. Rather than reduce overall burdens, this action actually facilitated increased burdens.[11]



Actual Costs Likely Higher



The actual cost of regulations adopted in FY 2010 is almost certainly much higher than $26.5 billion. As a first matter, the cost of non-economically significant rules—rules deemed not likely to have an annual impact of $100 million or more—is not calculated (although such rules are believed to constitute only a small portion of total regulatory costs). Moreover, costs were not quantified for 12 of the economically significant rules adopted in FY 2010.



Many of the rules lacking quantified costs involve financial regulation. The Federal Reserve Board, for instance, did not quantify any costs for its new “Truth in Lending”[12] regulations—which impose fee and disclosure requirements for credit card accounts—although the new rules are generally expected to be costly. Similarly, costs were not calculated for new Federal Reserve Board regulations on prepaid electronic gift cards.[13]



It should also be noted that reported costs are likely minimized by allowing agencies to make the initial calculations, thereby casting their proposals in the best light. This could have a substantial impact: Overall, there is evidence that agencies systematically understate regulatory costs. In its 2005 report to Congress, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs conducted ex ante analyses of regulations to test the accuracy of cost-benefit estimates. The study determined that regulators overestimated benefits 40 percent of the time and underestimated costs 34 percent of the time.[14]



Even a finding that costs exceed benefits does not necessarily stop a new rule from going into effect. For instance, in evaluating new regulations for train-control systems, the Department of Transportation identified costs of $477.4 million, and benefits of a mere $22 million. Nevertheless, due to a statutory mandate, the regulations were adopted.



The EPA is prohibited by law from considering costs in devising regulations under the Clean Air Act and other major environmental statutes. Thus, the agency recently set new, more stringent standards on emissions of nitrogen dioxide without formally considering the economic or technical feasibility of compliance.[15] While the EPA did prepare a cost-benefit analysis—concluding that the costs exceed the benefits—agency officials conceded they had no way of determining the number of localities that would be out of compliance under the new rule.



Lastly, it should be noted that annual compliance costs constitute only part of the economic burden of regulation. New rules also entail start-up costs for new equipment, conversions of industrial processes, and devising data collection and reporting procedures. These “first-year” costs exceed $3.1 billion for the 43 new FY 2010 regulations. For example, new restrictions on “short sales”[16] imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission will require initial costs of more than $1 billion[17] for modifications to computer systems and surveillance mechanisms, and for information-gathering, management, and recordkeeping systems. Likewise, the EPA estimates one-time implementation costs of nearly $745 million for new limits on emissions from diesel engines used in energy production.[18]



More Rules on the Way



Many, many more regulations are in the pipeline. According to one estimate, financial regulation legislation recently adopted by Congress, known as the Dodd–Frank bill, will require 243 new formal rule-makings by 11 different federal agencies.[19] So wide-ranging are regulators’ new powers, in fact, that the Department of Health and Human Services has failed to meet one-third of the deadlines mandated by the new federal health care law, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.[20]



Meanwhile, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created under the Dodd–Frank measure will wield vaguely defined powers to regulate financial products and services, including mortgages, credit cards, even student loans. And, the Federal Communications Commission is mulling new regulations to limit how Internet service providers manage their networks. Such “net neutrality” rules, if enacted, would undermine investment incentives, thereby robbing the nation of much-needed broadband upgrades.[21]



Taken together, these initiatives embody a stunningly full regulatory agenda—indicating that this year’s record for regulatory increases will not stand for long.



Conclusion



The regulatory burden increased at an unprecedented rate during FY 2010, as measured by both the number of new major rules as well as their reported costs. Even more are on the way in 2011.



A number of steps have been proposed to stem this growth, ranging from automatic sunsetting of rules[22] to requiring congressional approval of all new major rules.[23]



Mere procedural reforms will not be enough to stem this regulatory tide. Regulatory costs will rise until policymakers appreciate the burdens that regulations are imposing on Americans and the economy, and exercise the political will necessary to limit—and reduce—those burdens.



—James L. Gattuso is Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy, Diane Katz is Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy, and Stephen A. Keen is a Research Assistant, in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.



Appendix



Major Rulemaking Proceedings that Increased Regulatory Burdens, October 2009–September 2010



October 2009



October 30, 2009, Environmental Protection Agency, “Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases”: $94.9 million annually; $140.7 million start-up.



November 2009



November 17, 2009, Federal Reserve System, “Electronic Fund Transfers”: $10.9 million annually.



December 2009



December 1, 2009, Environmental Protection Agency, “Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and Development Point Source Category”: $810.8 million annually.



December 4, 2009, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Amendments to Rules for Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations”: $34.9 million annually; $16.2 million start-up.



December 4, 2009, Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, “Pipeline Safety: Integrity Management Program for Gas Distribution Pipelines”: $101.1 million annually; $130.1 million start-up.



December 23, 2009, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Proxy Disclosure Enhancements”: $66.5 million annually.



January 2010



January 8, 2010, Department of Energy, “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Certain Consumer Products (Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, Microwave Ovens, and Electric and Gas Kitchen Ranges and Ovens) and for Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment (Commercial Clothes Washers)”: $23.4 million annually.



January 11, 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Custody of Funds or Securities of Clients by Investment Advisers”: $125.1 million annually; $1.2 million start-up.



January 15, 2010, Federal Reserve System and Federal Trade Commission, “Fair Credit Reporting Risk-Based Pricing Regulations”: $252.1 million annually.



January 15, 2010, Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, “Positive Train Control Systems”: $477.4 million annually.



January 28, 2010, Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; Federal Reserve System; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Department of the Treasury, Office of Thrift Supervision, “Risk-Based Capital Guidelines; Capital Adequacy Guidelines; Capital Maintenance: Regulatory Capital; Impact of Modifications to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; Consolidation of Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Programs; and Other Related Issues”: cost not quantified.



February 2010



February 9, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Nitrogen Dioxide”: cost not quantified.



February 17, 2010, Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, “National Organic Program; Access to Pasture (Livestock)”: cost not quantified.



February 22, 2010, Federal Reserve System, “Truth in Lending”: cost not quantified.



March 2010



March 3, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines”: $373.4 million annually; $744.7 million start-up.



March 4, 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Money Market Fund Reform”: $60.2 million annually; $86.9 million start-up.



March 9, 2010, Department of Energy, “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Small Electric Motors”: $263.9 million annually.



March 10, 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Amendments to Regulation SHO”: $1.2 billion annually; $1.1 billion start-up.



March 19, 2010, Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, “Regulations Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco to Protect Children and Adolescents”: cost not quantified.



March 26, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Program”: $7.8 billion annually.



April 2010



April 1, 2010, Federal Reserve System, “Electronic Fund Transfers”: cost not quantified.



April 5, 2010, Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, “Electronic On-Board Recorders for Hours-of-Service Compliance”: $139 million annually.



April 14, 2010, Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, “Use of Ozone-Depleting Substances; Removal of Essential-Use Designation (Flunisolide, etc.)”: $181.9 million annually.



April 16, 2010, Department of Energy: Energy Conservation Program, “Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Water Heaters, Direct Heating Equipment, and Pool Heaters”: $1.3 billion annually.



May 2010



May 6, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “Lead; Amendment to the Opt-Out and Recordkeeping Provisions in the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program”: $419.5 million annually; $552 million start-up.



May 7, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards; Final Rule”: $10.8 billion annually (2012–2016).



May 13, 2010, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, “Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Dependent Coverage of Children to Age 26 Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”: $11 million annually.



May 28, 2010, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, “Automatic Dependent Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS-B) Out Performance Requirements to Support Air Traffic Control (ATC) Service”: $100 million annually.



June 2010



June 4, 2010, Federal Reserve System, “Electronic Fund Transfers”: cost not quantified.



June 17, 2010, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; Department of Health and Human Services, “Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a Grandfathered Health Plan Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”: $25.2 million annually; $30.2 million start-up.



June 22, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide”: $1.6 billion annually.



June 28, 2010, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and Department of Health and Human Services, “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Preexisting Condition Exclusions, Lifetime and Annual Limits, Rescissions, and Patient Protections”: $4.8 million annually.



June 29, 2010, Federal Reserve System, “Truth in Lending”: cost not quantified.



July 2010



July 14, 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Political Contributions by Certain Investment Advisers”: $85.1 million annually; $22.6 million start-up.



July 16, 2010, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, “Reasonable Contract or Arrangement Under Section 408(b)(2)—Fee Disclosure”: $57.7 million annually.



July 19, 2010, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and Department of Health and Human Services, “Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Coverage of Preventive Services Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”: cost not quantified.



July 23, 2010, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and Department of Health and Human Services, “Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Processes Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”: $75.1 million annually.



July 28, 2010, Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators”: $123.9 million annually; $283.3 million start-up.



August 2010



August 9, 2010, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “Cranes and Derricks in Construction”: $151.6 million annually.



August 12, 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission: “Amendments to Form ADV”: $20.5 million annually; $56.4 million start-up.



August 20, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines”: $253 million annually.



September 2010



September 9, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from the Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry and Standards of Performance for Portland Cement Plants”: $1 billion in 2013.



September 16, 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Facilitating Shareholder Director Nominations”: $8 million annually.



Major Rulemaking Proceedings that Decreased Regulatory Burdens, October 2009–September 2010



October 19, 2009, Securities and Exchange Commission, “Internal Control Over Financial Reporting in Exchange Act Periodic Reports of Non-Accelerated Filers”: savings not quantified.



November 2, 2009, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Medical Examination of Aliens—Removal of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection from Definition of Communicable Disease of Public Health Significance”: savings not quantified.



November 13, 2009, Environmental Protection Agency, “Oil Pollution Prevention; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule—Amendments”: $98.6 million.



March 31, 2010, Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, “Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances”: $1.4 billion.



June 3, 2010, Environmental Protection Agency, “Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule”: savings not quantified.



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Show references in this report

[1]Nicole V. Crain and W. Mark Crain, “The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms,” Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, September 2010, at http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs371.pdf (October 21, 2010).




[2]Council of Economic Advisers, “Economic Report of the President,” February 10, 2010, at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/ (October 21, 2010).



[3]James L. Gattuso and Stephen A. Keen, “Red Tape Rising: Regulation in the Obama Era,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 2394, April 8, 2010, at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/03/Red-Tape-Rising-Regulation-in-the-Obama-Era.



[4]Based on data from the Government Accountability Office, “Congressional Review Act Reports,” at http://www.gao.gov/legal/congress.html (October 21, 2010). Rules include those classified as “significant/substantive,” and excluding those of a budgetary nature or otherwise not of a regulatory nature. The GAO database covers rules issued from 1997 to the present. For previous Heritage Foundation reports that relied on this database, see James L. Gattuso, “Reining in the Regulators: How Does President Bush Measure Up?” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1801, September 28, 2004, at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Regulation/bg1801.cfm; Gattuso, “Red Tape Rising: Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 2116, March 25, 2008, at http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm; and Gattuso and Keen, “Red Tape Rising: Regulation in the Obama Era.”



[5]Based on cost figures provided in Regulatory Impact Analyses prepared by each regulatory agency. Where a range of costs was reported, the mid-point was used in the authors’ calculations. All figures in constant 2009 dollars. Historical data from 1981 through 2007 (shown in chart) obtained directly from OMB staff, and based on Figure 2.1 of OMB, “Report[s] to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local and Tribal Entities” for 2006–2009; 2009 figures from 2010 report Table 1-4. All reports available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg_regpol_reports_congress (October 22, 2010). OMB data does not include independent agency rules and certain other rules, and is based on the date of OMB approval of the regulation. Heritage calculations for 2010 are based on the date of publication in the Federal Register. All figures in chart are net of deregulatory actions.



[6]This rule represents the first time that “greenhouse gas” emissions performance was applied in a regulatory context for a nationwide program.



[7]“Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards; Final Rule,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 88 (May 7, 2010), p. 25,324.



[8]“Environmental Protection Agency: Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Program,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 58 (March 26, 2010), p. 14,670. In its Regulatory Impact Analysis, the EPA projects several indirect costs, including food increases of $10 per person per year, or $3.6 billion, by 2022. This was not included in the authors’ total. EPA, “Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS2) Regulatory Impact Analysis,” February 2010, at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/420r10006.pdf (October 22, 2010).



[9]“Department of Energy: Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Water Heaters, Direct Heating Equipment, and Pool Heaters,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 73 (April 16, 2010), p. 20,112.



[10]“Environmental Protection Agency, Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 106 (June 3, 2010), p. 31,514.



[11]For more information, see Nicolas D. Loris, “The EPA’s Global Warming Regulation Plans,” Heritage Foundation WebMemo No. 2768, January 20, 2010, at http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/01/the-epas-global-warming-regulation-plans.



[12]“Federal Reserve System: Truth in Lending,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 124 (June 29, 2010), p. 37,526.



[13] “Federal Reserve System: Electronic Fund Transfers,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 62 (April 1, 2010), p. 16,580.



[14] Office of Management and Budget, “Validating Regulatory Analysis: 2005 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities,” December 2005.



[15]“Environmental Protection Agency: Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Nitrogen Dioxide,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 26 (February 9, 2010), p. 6,474.



[16]Short-selling involves profiting from the decline of a stock price. An investor “borrows” stock and sells it, with the hope of a price drop. If the price does, in fact, decline, the seller buys back the stock at the lower price and returns the borrowed shares, profiting from the difference in the initial sale price and the decline.



[17]“Securities and Exchange Commission: Amendments to Regulation SHO,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 26 (March 10, 2010), p. 11,232.



[18]“Environmental Protection Agency, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines,” Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 161 (August 20, 2010), p. 51,579.



[19]Davis Polk, “Summary of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Enacted into Law on July 21, 2010,” Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP, July 21, 2010, at http://www.davispolk.com/files/Publication/7084f9fe-6580-413b-b870-b7c025ed2ecf/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/1d4495c7-0be0-4e9a-ba77-f786fb90464a/070910_Financial_Reform_Summary.pdf (October 21, 2010).



[20]Congressional Research Service, “Deadlines for the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from Enactment to January 1, 2011,” Memorandum, October 1, 2010, at http://coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=54103bf6-ae3a-47be-916e-72548ba34b5b (October 21, 2010).



[21]James L. Gattuso, “The FCC and Broadband Regulation: What Part of ‘No’ Did You Not Understand?” Heritage Foundation WebMemo No. 2864, April 15, 2010, at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/04/The-FCC-and-Broadband-Regulation-What-Part-of-No-Did-You-Not-Understand.



[22]Gattuso and Keen, “Red Tape Rising: Regulation in the Obama Era.”



[23]Gattuso, “Red Tape Rises Again: Cost of Regulation Reaches $1.75 Trillion,” The Foundry, Heritage Foundation blog, September 22, 2010, at http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/22/red-tape-rises-again-cost-of-regulation-reaches-1-75-trillion/.



Friday, March 4, 2011

The Global Warming Health Scare

From The American Thinker:

March 05, 2011


The Global Warming Health Scare

By Timothy Birdnow

The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) have declared Global Warming a serious public health threat. You may resume reading after your laughter subsides.





According to this article from Medpage Today:





"The "evidence has only grown stronger" that climate change is responsible for an increasing number of health ills, including asthma, diarrheal disease, and even deaths from extreme weather such as heat waves, said Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of the APHA.





For one, rising temperatures can mean more smog, which makes children with asthma sicker, explained pediatrician Perry Sheffield, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York."





First, temperatures haven't risen statistically since 1995 according to Phil Jones from the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, and an ardent Global Warming defender. Now, to claim rising temperatures are causing all these health issues is astonishingly disingenuous. But one must ask, which is better; draconian policies which will barely slow the growth of carbon dioxide at the expense of energy, or making energy cheap enough for asthmatic children to be able to afford air purifiers and air conditioners? Cap and Trade policies accomplish next to nothing -- assuming there is even a problem, while cheap energy accomplishes something concrete.





The article continues:





"Aside from air-related ailments and illnesses, extreme weather can have a devastating effect on health, (pediatrician Perry) Sheffield said.





"As a result of global warming, extreme storms including hurricanes, heavy rainfall, and even snowstorms are expected to increase," Sheffield said. "And these events pose risk of injury and disruption of special medical services, which are particularly important to children with special medical needs."





Uh, there is no connection between Global Warming and hurricanes that we can observe. This is idle conjecture from idling minds, yet it is presented as fact. What will happen if we institute these destructive mitigation policies is that there will be less money to help when disaster strikes.





Let us continue:





"Extreme heat waves and droughts are responsible for more deaths than any other weather-related event, Sheffield said.





The 2006 heat wave that spread through most of the U.S. and Canada saw temperatures that topped 100 degrees. In all, 450 people died, 16,000 visited the emergency room, and 1,000 were hospitalized, said Cecil Wilson, MD, president of the AMA."





Again, an air conditioner is the best way to mitigate health problems during a heat wave; too bad that carbon reduction will make them unaffordable for the poor.





She is confusing weather and climate, it must be pointed out.





It goes even further:





"Climate change has already caused temperatures to rise and precipitation to increase, which, in turn, can cause diseases carried by tics, mosquitoes, and other animals to spread past their normal geographical range, explained (Kristi) Ebi.





For instance, Lyme disease is increasing in some areas, she said, including in Canada, where scientists are tracking the spread of Lyme disease north. Ebi also recounted the 2004 outbreak of the leading seafood-related cause of gastroenteritis, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, from Alaskan seafood, which was attributed to increased ocean temperatures causing infected sea creatures to travel 600 miles north.





Salmonella outbreaks also increase when temperatures are very warm, Sheffield said.





Hey, how about malaria? We were told malaria would spread like the Black Death, yet that has proven false.





The reality is that diseases do not have exact boundaries, but move into new habitats all the time. Since there has been no statistical warming in sixteen years, we cannot blame increases in Lyme's Disease on climate change.





Again, the best defense is a wealthy and vibrant economy. ObamaCare would make diagnosis and treatment more difficult because of government regulation of costs, and carbon mitigation strategies would slow economic growth, making government bean counters all the more stingy. Oh, and who is going to spray to keep tick populations under control with no money? They banned DDT, which was a proven pesticide for controlling ticks, it must be pointed out.





Here is my personal favorite:





"A 2008 study also projected that global warming will lead to a possible increase in the prevalence of kidney stones due to increased dehydration, although the link hasn't been proven."



Please give me a moment; laughter has made me pass a stone!





Here is the complete list of things blamed on Global Warming.





At the end of the day, the most draconian actions by government will accomplish little if anything. This is a political controversy, not a scientific matter, and attempts to "fix" the problem will lead to economic malaise and poverty, proven killers. The poor suffer ill health in an economic slump. Poverty, more than anything, begets ill health, and groups like the AMA and APHA are promoting poverty and ill health here.





They should be ashamed!





(A tip of the porkpie to Mike W.)





Tim blogs at www.tbirdnow.mee.nu

The Warmists' Dilemma

From The American Thinker:

March 04, 2011


The Warmist's Dilemma

By Adam Yoshida

I have longed argued that one of the primary problems with the thinking of our well-meaning liberal friends is that they tend to live in the world of "wouldn't it be nice" and then attempt to argue that people who dissent from this view are just plain bad. Nowhere is that tendency better exemplified than in the battle over Climate Change.





Most of us are familiar with the concept of the "prisoner's dilemma." It's an exercise in game theory where two men are arrested for a crime and interrogated separately by the police. If one man informs on the other and the other does not, the informer will walk and the other will get ten years. If neither cracks than both will go free. If each betrays the other then each will get two years. It increasingly occurs to me that this the best paradigm through which to view the struggle over Anthropomorphic Global Warming and what to do about it.





Too often conservatives and libertarians have allowed themselves to get bogged down in the debate over whether global warming is occurring and, further, if it is whether humans are responsible for it. The problem, as I see it, is that this takes us into a charged debate over science that has us fighting an inconclusive battle of attrition over technical questions that are barely understood by the overwhelming majority of debaters. I think that we would be much better off if we used the example of the prisoner's dilemma to explain why the "solutions" to global warming proposed by the statist element -- assuming for the moment that they are 100% correct on the scientific aspects of the question -- are not only unworkable but destructive.





What do I mean? Well, ladies and gentlemen, let us consider the facts as they are presented to us. The advocates of a wide-ranging governmental response to AGW state that carbon emissions into the atmosphere are causing a change in the global climate and that the only way to arrest this is through enacting a program of state controls that will radically reduce the carbon produced by our businesses and homes. Let us parse that for the moment. We are speaking in global terms here. It means that emissions must be reduced to such a degree as is significant on global scale. That means one of two things.





Either everyone must reduce their emissions collectively or it means that we in the West must reduce our emissions so much as to compensate for non-reductions in the Third World.





While some may argue that these may take place in economically non-destructive ways, I would argue that that is simply impossible under the sort of timescale proposed (a few decades as opposed to the rest of the century, say). In the short-term, you can only reduce carbon emissions through heavy taxation and regulation of private enterprise and homes or through the mandating of the use of expensive and inefficient "green" technology. It may well be that the future will bring workable low or zero-carbon technologies but it doesn't seem likely to me that these will come about via state-funded projects. If these technologies were viable in the real-world than there would already be investors for them lined up around the block. To have GM produce $50,000 electric cars and then sell them to the public for $40,000 at a loss while being subsidized by the government isn't a winning strategy.





Remember: China's emissions are already more than those of the United States. They are on the way to being more than those of the United States and Europe combined (certainly, they will be a few decades hence at the current pace). India's are also rapidly increasing. China and India -- among many others -- have populations just grabbing onto the edges of wealth and comfort. How likely is it that they will be willing to take the sort of economically-restrictive measures necessary to bring about a meaningful reduction in carbon emissions?





China's emissions have been increasing more than 10% a year. India's are set to increase three-fold over the next twenty years. The United States and Europe could engage in some sort of environmentally-friendly mass suicide and it we would still not have a net decrease over the medium term without the cooperation of China and India.





We must return to the concept of the prisoner's dilemma. Once again, if we assume for the sake of argument that the advocates of AGW are 100% right on the science, we must also conclude that they are 100% wrong on the policy. Using the terms of the game, the Chinese and others have an overwhelming incentive to betray -- that is, not to cooperate in any sort of international effort to reduce carbon. Choosing in such a situation to attempt to cooperate with someone with zero intention to cooperate and strong incentives against doing so crosses the line into active insanity. It may reward its self-righteous proponents with a little moral frisson, but it would be incredibly destructive for the rest of us.





We would do well to remember that, for all of the apocalyptic rhetoric, the consequences of even the most extreme forms of Climate Change would be manageable in the West. The world isn't going to catch on fire and we're not going to grow gills and spend our lives fighting pirates. In the worst case scenario in North America we may find that growing patterns shift (not always, I will add, to our detriment), that we have to deal with some new diseases and pests that were not present before, and that some already-vulnerable coastal areas become less-viable. Even in the darkest scenario none of these things will happen overnight -- they'll occur gradually over a span of decades.





If we, in view of the likely decisions of others, elect to "betray" -- that is to not attempt any sort of generalized strategy for the reduction of carbon, then we will be making the best decision that we can make with the information available to us at the present time. Instead of throwing trillions of dollars down green sinkholes, we can use the time and money we have to improve our economy and our technology in an organic fashion -- creating the breathing room and the sort of open and flexible society that can respond to the challenge that Climate Change might represent. The alternative is a world where our measures will have doubtlessly proven insufficient to arrest any human-triggered change in the climate but where we will lack the wealth and resources to respond effectively to such changes as may occur.

Overcriminalized.com Legislative Update

From Overcriminalized.com:

Table of Contents




New:



H.R. 775:

Updates:



H.R. 386: Securing Aircraft Cockpits Against Lasers Act of 2011

H.R. 347: Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



H.R. 775:



Sponsor: Duncan (R - TN)



Official Title: A bill to amend title 44, United States Code, to require any organization that is established for the purpose of raising funds for creating, maintaining, expanding, or conducting activities at a Presidential archival depository or any facilities relating to a Presidential archival depository to disclose the sources and amounts of any funds raised, and for other purposes.



Status:

2/17/2011: Introduced in House

2/17/2011: Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee



Commentary: This bill would amend section 2112 of Title 44, U.S. Code, to require any organization "established for the purpose of raising funds for creating, maintaining, expanding, or conducting activities at a Presidential archival depository or any facilities related to a Presidential archival depository" to disclose specified information relating to the sources and amounts of those funds. Specifically, H.R. 775 would require such covered organizations to divulge the value, source, and date of every monetary or in-kind contribution totaling $200 or more for a given year through an annual report submitted to the House Administration Committee, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In addition to establishing this organizational reporting requirement, the bill also criminalizes certain actions associated with the disclosure and characterization of donation information. Any individual who makes a contribution to a covered organization and who "knowingly and willfully submit[s] false material information or omit[s] material information with respect to the contribution" would be subject to criminal sanctions under the provisions of section 1001 of Title 18, U.S. Code. Likewise, any covered organization that "knowingly and willfully submit[s] false material information or omit[s] material information" with respect to its contributions would be subject to the same criminal sanctions. Violations of section 1001 are punishable by up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. H.R. 775 also makes it unlawful for an individual to "knowingly and willfully" make contributions to a covered organization "in the name of another person" or to "knowingly and willfully" permit the use of their name by another person in conjunction with a contribution, or for a covered organization to accept such a misattributed contribution. Violations of these provisions would be punishable under section 309(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 (2 U.S.C. § 437g(d)) in the same manner as if they were violations of section 316(b)(3) of FECA (2 U.S.C. § 441b(b)(3)), which authorizes criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both in instances involving aggregate contributions valued at more than $250 and less than $25,000. Violations involving aggregate contributions worth $25,000 or more could be punished with criminal sanctions of up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both.





H.R. 386: Securing Aircraft Cockpits Against Lasers Act of 2011



Sponsor: Lungren (R - CA)



Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for aiming laser pointers at airplanes, and for other purposes.



Status:

1/20/2011: Introduced in House

1/20/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee

1/20/2011: Referred to House Budget Committee

1/21/2011: Referred to House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

1/26/2011: Mark up in the House Judiciary Committee

1/26/2011: Ordered to be reported by voice vote House Judiciary Committee

1/26/2011: Discharged House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

2/11/2011: Reported to House by House Judiciary Committee

2/11/2011: Discharged House Budget Committee

2/11/2011: Placed on House calendar

2/28/2011: House passage by voice vote under suspension of the rules

3/1/2011: Received in Senate

3/1/2011: Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee



Commentary: The bill would make it unlawful for any person to "knowingly aim[] the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, or at the flight path of such an aircraft." The penalty for such actions would be imprisonment for up to five years, a fine as authorized by Title 18, U.S. Code, or both. The language of H.R. 386 offers a limited number of exceptions to its general prohibition, including one for aiming a laser at an aircraft for emergency signaling purposes. However, the definition of the offense does not safeguard from criminal punishment those who might aim a laser at an aircraft or its flight path accidentally, inadvertently, or with benign intent.





H.R. 347: Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011



Sponsor: Rooney (R - FL)



Official Title: A bill to correct and simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of Title 18, United States Code.



Status:

1/19/2011: Introduced in House

1/19/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee

1/21/2011: Referred to House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

1/26/2011: Mark up in the House Judiciary Committee

1/26/2011: Ordered to be reported by voice vote House Judiciary Committee

1/26/2011: Discharged House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

2/11/2011: Reported to House by House Judiciary Committee

2/11/2011: Placed on House calendar

2/28/2011: House passage by roll call vote under suspension of the rules

3/1/2011: Received in Senate

3/1/2011: Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee



Commentary: This bill would amend existing section 1752 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code to reduce the protectiveness of the criminal-intent (mens rea) requirements in offenses involving conduct in "restricted" government buildings, grounds, or areas. Among other things, section 1752 currently prohibits any person or group of persons from: (1) "willfully" and "knowingly" entering or remaining in unauthorized Government buildings, grounds, or areas; (2) engaging in "disorderly or disruptive conduct" that "impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business" or is intended to do so; (3) obstructing or impeding ingress or egress to or from Government buildings, grounds, or areas; or (4) engaging in "any act of physical violence against any person or property" in Government buildings, grounds, or areas. Violations of current law carry criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. Violations that involve the use of a firearm or that result in significant bodily injury may be punished by up to 10 years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. H.R. 347 would restructure the language of Section 1752 defining the criminal offenses and reduce the level of criminal intent the Government must prove to establish a violation from a "willfully and knowingly" standard to a less-protective "knowingly" standard. The bill would not alter the existing criminal penalties.