Posted on 12/03/2010 1:55:00 AM PST by Scanian
There is hope for a reprieve from Senate Bill S510, the awful, expensive, bureaucracy-expanding, federal power grab over our food supply. The reason is that the bill contains new fees, which can be regarded as taxes, and the Constitution requires all tax bills to originate in the House of Representatives. John Stanton of Roll Call reports:
"By pre-empting the House's tax-writing authority, Senate Democrats appear to have touched off a power struggle with members of their own party in the House. The Senate passed the bill Tuesday, sending it to the House, but House Democrats are expected to use a procedure known as "blue slipping" to block the bill, according to House and Senate GOP aides.
The debacle could prove to be a major embarrassment for Senate Democrats, who sought Tuesday to make the relatively unknown bill a major political issue by sending out numerous news releases trumpeting its passage."
There are two possible outcomes here:
"The blue slip could lead to one of two likely outcomes. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could simply drop the issue and let the next session of Congress start from scratch, a strategy that would allow him time in the lame-duck session to tackle other last-minute priorities, such as the expiring 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, a long-term continuing resolution, an immigration bill and a repeal of the military's ban on openly gay service members.
Or he could try to force the issue in the Senate after the House passes a new version of the bill. But in order to do that and still tackle the other issues, he would need a unanimous consent agreement to limit debate."
According to Senate GOP aides, a unanimous consent agreement is all but certain to be a nonstarter because the bill's chief opponent, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), will not agree to such a deal.
We are very lucky that this roadblock is regarded as an issue by House Democrats, jealous of their prerogatives. The National Health Federation, a pro-freedom group which opposes the bill, points out:
The FDA already collects fees from drug companies, medical device companies, domestic food companies, and even animal-medicine manufacturing companies. User-fee legislation has originated in the Senate, in the HELP committee, and its precursor committees. So, why have these existing fees not been considered to be "unconstitutional" before? But, this is just basic knowledge of FDA law and the Congressional legislative process. Only in Washington can the politicians now suddenly be reinterpreting a "fee" as a source of revenue, and, as revenue, therefore a new tax. But, our philosophy on this issue is "any port in a storm."
The best outcome would be for consideration by the House to be delayed until the new Congress is sworn in. That would allow closer scrutiny by the GOP majority of this expensive enlargement of the federal government, which would put many small agricultural producers out of business, and do nothing to increase the safety of our food supply.
Congress didn’t have any problem allowing the salad bar bill to sail right to the presidente’s desk.
Not with Big Agra greasing the wheel, no.
Constitution? obamacrats don't have to follow THAT old, obsolete thing, do they?
I’m pretty sure the Dhimmis are more concerned about their House prerogatives than they are about the Constitution.
Just another case of power hungry politicians being power hungry politicians.
They are overturning our Constitution at every turn..Why? Because they think Americans will not really do anything to stop their grab for a dictatorship. We may already be there, folks. We will know shortly whether we have transformed from citizens into subjects. If they continue to ignore the results of the election, we will know. Net Neutrality is one of their latest pushes. Congress and the courts said, “No,” to it..So, the FCC is just going to regulate it into being. No problem. The Presidential arm does not need the Congress anymore. The Obama administration has become dictatorial in it’s authority. The people had better strongly oppose this or we will be in permanent decline, just like Rome.
This bill was the Liberal Free Trader Globalists wet-dream: Control of all agri production....and more importing of crappy Communist Chinese food.
Only a Liberal Free Trader Globalist wants to kill American production...in this case, the small farmers who are trying to make a living. Free Traders are Economic Anti-Americans at heart.
A large number of both Dem and GOP Liberal Free Trader Globalists supported this bill.
I think the writing went up on the wall in 1992, when Congress passed the Energy Policy Act dictating what kind of toilets Americans are allowed to have, and no one raised an eyebrow (except for Dave Barry, who wrote a column about it. The “serious” pundits didn’t notice). Free people do not allow their government to dictate these kinds of decisions.
You guys have it all wrong. See, the Dims OWN the Constitution and have to keep explaining it to us rubes who are too stupid to understand it. Especially the conservatives who are always deluded into voting for the Republicans because we have some strange obssession with “liberty” or whatever. They have to do that because it’s a complex, “nuanced” document that is beyond the understanding of us unwashed masses.
This bill, last May, started moving forward - then tabled and now a threat. If it passes, as is, local Farmer’s Markets will be illegal, growing your own vegetables and giving them away will be subject to fines. Even growing your own produce and eating it will not be approved.
Bigger government - I am seeing it all over. We have many in church who bring an over abundance of produce to the building on Sundays and make it available to those who come through the doors. If this bill passes the government will have to come and stop us because we will not cease from this expression of love in our fellowship.
How did this bill get traction? How does it continue to proceed?
That’s their general, overarching attitude.
I was discussing the “Food Safety Act” and the House Dems handling of it in particular.
Big AgriBusiness wants it and they are heavy contributors to both sides.
Plus, the bill has been moving “under the radar” which tax cuts, earmarks, Wikileaks, and the rest have been headline news.
Stymie had a correct opinion about vegetables..
The Artichoke...
“It may have choked Artie, but it ain’t gonna choke Stymie!”
George Soros & big Agri-business, which has deep pockets for lobbying.
Soros bought over 897,000 shares last week of Monsanto, before the vote on this bill.
In the day following the vote, Soros made over $8 million in the rise of the stock of Monsanto
There are too many non-legislated regulations and too many Executive Orders.
The executive branch can do too many things that essentially allow them to make laws. Same for the courts.
The founders would not appreciate what we have come to.
The dems would have to explain to them how the American government is REALLY supposed to work.
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