Upcoming Campaign for Liberty Training Classes

Campaign for Liberty will be having two training classes in Nevada in a couple of weeks. We are offering these schools as a way to not only learn how to be a more effective activist for the cause but also as a chance to relax before the final push before election day.

The first school will be on Saturday, September 11 in Reno, NV at the Peppermill Resort. If you like the High Sierra Mountains and crisp fall days, it is a great place to come visit. It is a beautiful city and very close to Lake Tahoe, California.

If you are coming from out of town, plan on making a weekend of it. The Peppermill Resort has some great packages available.

The second school will be in Las Vegas the following day on Sunday, September 12. This one will be at the Hooters Hotel and Casino. You might be asking, why Hooters? Well, the Hooter’s restaurant corporation was attacked by the federal government because it didn’t hire men to be waitresses. Instead of bowing to political correctness, or trying to cut a deal with some lawyers, the company fought back and created its own grassroots campaign.

When Hooters was attacked by the federal government, it responded by creating its own grassroots campaign led by “Vince the Hooters Guy.”

I am a fan of any company that fights back tyranny and makes a legitimate profit. And on top of everything else, they made us a great deal too.

On top of great room rates, they have offered us two for one packages on meals and shows. The Hotel is right off the main Las Vegas strip, so there is always something to do. If you want to attend and are from out of town, I hope you will have a good time – but be ready early Sunday morning for some great training.

I am all about freedom and having more options than ObamaCare has to offer, so you can choose which location you want to attend. You can join us at The Peppermill, a very nice Hotel/Casino/Resort in Reno, or you can take part in the session in Las Vegas.

And the most important part: you will receive some great training on being an effective activist. This isn’t a seminar on ideas or theories – this school is about how to create change. This not a class on how to schmooze but on what you need to do to be respected and feared by the political class.

If you are frustrated by politicians who say one thing at the Tea Party Rally but break their promise at the Capitol, you need to be at this school.

Kirk Shelley will be teaching both schools, and they promise to be great times to meet with like-minded people from your area.

Here is what others have said about the school:

  • “I really enjoyed the school. I found it simultaneously informative, exciting, and revolting.” Luke Priest, Iowa
  • “The best activist training I have taken so far. Political reality is laid out in an easy to comprehend manner. They don’t just tell you what the problem is; they give you a road map to strike back. Absolutely a must do training event.” Al Gerhart, CoFounder, Sooner Tea Party. Founder, Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance
  • “The slides and training were extremely informative and educational – your real-world experience and anecdotes really hit home and were relevant to the materials. It was a pretty intense class – lots of information in a single day, but we got through it!” Jeremy T. Goemaat, President, LogicBox, Inc.
  • “Your training is OUTSTANDING. I’m not one to be able to sit for more than 1 hour at a lecture style presentation, but honest to God, that’s the best political training I’ve ever seen.” Jeff Greenspan, Arizona Campaign for Liberty

Space is limited for both events, so please don’t put off making a decision on attending.

CLICK HERE to sign up for the Reno, NV school.

CLICK HERE to sign up for the Las Vegas, NV school.

In Liberty,

John Tate, President

Campaign for Liberty

Obama Attacks AZ – With UN Amnesty Plan

UN Human Rights Council To Decide On The Measures It Would Take In Case of “Persistent Non-cooperation” by AZ…

ALERT: Obama just attacked Arizona and America using the UN and Hillary Clinton’s State Department. Ignoring the court ruling that AZ Immigration Enforcement Law does not violate human rights but must be enforced by the Feds, Hillary issued a 29-page “Universal Periodic Review” (UPR) to the UN Human Rights Council, which indicted AZ and America, and seeks to force mass illegal alien amnesty on the United States.

Obama’s submission of the UPR is part of the plan to by-pass Congress for amnesty, and a UN review of the AZ law to culminate with the issuance of aplan of action to STOP AZ in 90 days from now by a panel of UN bureaucrats.

This is unquestionably UNCONSTITUTIONAL and UNACCEPTABLE. The United States can never be bound by the directives of an international body without the consent to treaty by the U.S. Senate!!! We have set up fax blasts to Bury Hillary, the UN Secretary General, the UN Human Rights Commission, the US State Department and send faxes to the home state offices of every House and Senate member — DEMANDING that they remove AZ from this disgraceful UPR.

Just when we thought the federal government’s lawsuit against Arizona was beyond the pale, now Obama goes to the United Nations to escalate the fight to an international level!

That’s right! In Obama’s shameful, precedent-setting first report to the U.N. Human Rights Council on the condition of human rights in the United States, Obama had the audacity to bash the state of Arizona, and the disloyalty to America to relegate it to third-world status, to denigrate and diminish our nation and please his global elitist pals!

This is yet another outrage against the spirit of liberty and sovereignty in America, and we cannot – WE MUST NOT STAND FOR IT!!!

No Amnesty, Defend ArizonaThat’s why your help is critical! MCDC Project is fighting to defend Arizona. It’s absolutely vital that American patriots come to the defense of Arizona and stand AGAINST AMNESTY!

If Obama is given a free pass on his “back-door amnesty” and defeats Arizona in future court action, the face of our country will be forever changed. They will have, in effect, brought into play millions of “instant illegal voters” with loyalty only to the Obama Democrats, and these “voters” in turn will, over time, deliver tens of millions of loyalty votes – votes that will keep the Amnesty supporters and their ilk in power for decades to come!

PROTECT AZ AND THE US AND DEFEAT OBAMA’S ATTACK MACHINE!

It’s obvious now more than ever that Obama has every intention of destroying our security and sovereignty by issuing mass amnesty through Executive Orders and Actions, and through his refusal to enforce current federal law.

In his report to the United Nations, Obama droned on about flaws in the U.S. Constitution, the evil of slavery, and a cornucopia of American defects and failures before demagoguing about how he is the savior of our nation, freeing us from the chains of human wickedness in America…

Later in the “Values and Immigration” section of his report came this admission: that Janet Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security is maneuvering to provide better medical care for illegal immigrant detainees and is working to find “alternatives to detention”! Outrageous!!!

In translation that means that the Obama administration is offering free medical care promised to illegal aliens under ObamaCare even while they’re in prison awaiting deportation! Then there’s the promise to “explore alternatives to detention,” which we all know is code for “catch and release” – or as we hear from the ICE rank and file officers, “don’t even catch them at all”!

And then finally, Obama delivers the low-blow to Arizona, the only state to stand up to the federal government and dare to fight in federal court for their right to enforce the law… the federal law Obama deliberately and maliciously is undermining from all sides!

Obama writes:

“A recent Arizona law, S.B. 1070, has generated significant attention and debate at home and around the world. The issue is being addressed in a court action that argues that the federal government has the authority to set and enforce immigration law. That action is ongoing; parts of the law are currently enjoined.”

By referencing the ongoing lawsuit with Arizona in a UN Human Rights report, Obama has escalated the Arizona law debate to an international issue by bringing it under the review of the United Nations!

As a result of Obama’s outrageous report to the UN, the Arizona law will come under formal review and examination on November 5th by the three member countries that control the UN Human Rights Commission: France, Japan, and Cameroon (a radical Islamic nation).

The UN Commission will then issue directives on what they recommend the United States do in response to the Arizona law!

THAT’S WHY WE MUST FIGHT BACK NOW!

Under the leadership of Gov. Jan Brewer, Arizona is pushing back against the Obama administration. After Clinton appointee Judge Susan Bolton struck down key provisions of the Arizona law, Gov. Brewer immediately appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit Court.

But, as Gov. Brewer pointed out, it’s obvious to anyone paying attention that the 9th Circuit is a rubber stamp for Obama’s socialist, internationalist agenda. So this case is going to the Supreme Court…where it should be!

This legal battle will cost Arizona millions! What’s more, at least 22 other states are already poised to pass.

Arizona needs your help – do not leave them to defend the border alone!

Gov. Brewer has stated, “We need action from the federal government not signs ceding sovereign U.S. territory to international drug cartels and human smugglers.” Brewer sent a letter to Obama outlining her Four-Point Border Action Surge Strategy. This strategy contains most actions advised in the 2005 Norwood Minuteman Report, and the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Project has been calling for these vital actions to be implemented for 5 years – and whole-heartedly supports them TODAY. As Gov. Brewer enumerated in her Four-Point Strategy to Obama:

  1. National Guard Personnel and Aviation
  2. Border Fence
  3. Enforce Federal Law and Appropriately Fund the Effort
  4. Reimburse States for the Additional Burden of Illegal Immigration

We Say, “Defend Arizona” – Obama And Feds Do Nothing but Sue AZ!

The tragedy is that the escalating violence in our southern sector could have been prevented years ago, and countless innocent American lives saved, if the federal government had responded to our warnings and recommendations, and had acted decisively for a secure border patrolled by the National Guard and a border fence! The level of accelerating violence and social chaos that has the President of the United States now ceding our territory to international bandits is the direct responsibility of the United States Government, and its gross dereliction of its duty under the US Constitution.

The Obama Administration was and still is grossly negligent in their sworn oaths of office to protect the sovereignty of the United States. The Government did not do its job and was complicit in the act when foreign nationals invade American soil and killed innocent US citizens! And now the situation only worsens, as Obama plays politics with border security, and his Justice Department STOPS Arizona for acting to save American lives, property and sovereignty!

Why is Washington’s response to try to SUPPRESS Arizona’s proper and Constitutional defense of our people and lands from foreign invasion? The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps sounded the alarm 5 years ago and this border crisis could have been prevented if the federal government had done its job!

Support Brewer DO NOT LET Obama Put More Americans at Risk.

Enough is enough! The line has to be drawn! Any human rights violations implicated in our border crisis are those of the vicious international drug and human trafficking cartels terrorizing our borderline and exploiting their victims! The invasion of America has to end! Justice has to be done for all the good, honest, Americans who have been killed, raped, kidnapped, stolen from, and abused by criminal illegal immigrants and alien gangs! American sovereign territory must be DEFENDED and HELD SECURE!!

It is a dark time in America; it seems as if our voices aren’t being heard. WE MUST NOT BACK DOWN! The most powerful things you have as a citizen is your voice and your ballot, even if so far in Washington, they REFUSE to listen. THE HOUR IS LATE, MAKE THEM HEAR US — it is the right thing to do!

TODAY is the day to help us mobilize common sense, patriotic Americans against this travesty!! The Obama Administration’s plan for Executive Order or US Citizenship and Immigration Service Executive Action mass amnesty MUST BE STOPPED!

Which is why I hope we can count on you for a much-needed donation of $25, $35, $50, $75, $100, $250, or more to Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Project.

Yes, I know I am asking a lot of you today. Especially in these difficult economic times.

But please, remember what is at stake — the security, the safety, the sovereignty — very possibly the very survival of not just Americans, but America herself.

For more information go to www.MinutemanHQ.com

For America,

Carmen Mercer
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Project

Repeal the REAL ID Act

A new deadline is coming up regarding the REAL ID Act, which we have thus far successfully kept from being implemented. That new deadline will be here sooner than you think, and we need to put the pressure on our elected officials in Washington now to get them to repeal this Nazi-style law. You can use or modify the letter below if you’d like.

The Government may think it’s their job to protect me from boogeymen. You may think that because the 9-11 Commission recommended we have a nationalized ID card, that we’ve just got to have some ID system to fill the bill.

You may have even begun to think that dictators who required their citizens to carry their “papers” from checkpoint to checkpoint, were on to something.

But instead, I urge you to take your wisdom from Benjamin Franklin who wrote, “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither liberty nor Safety.”

The problem with the Real ID Act is that it doesn’t even provide Temporary Safety. If a terrorist cell must forge identities to carry out their nefarious mission, then, quite simply, they will.

And if you nationalize ID, you will make the forgery of this “super ID” the holy grail of the black market — the very profitable focus of considerable criminal energies. I wouldn’t be surprised if fake “Real IDs” become incredibly easy to obtain — even common. Heck, you might even be creating the very black market that will make a terrorist’s job easier!

This is an expensive, pointless, anti-American exercise. We’ve had time to grow up since 9-11. Let’s act like it, instead of trading liberty for false security. I urge you to repeal the Real ID Act, and replace it with NOTHING. We don’t want “Real ID-lite.”

If you take the lead on this, you will get a national following from the considerably-effective, grassroots-base of Americans who’ve kept this bill from being implemented, first by the original May, 2008 deadline, and then by the revised December, 2009 deadline.

There’s another deadline coming in May, and we’re watching. Will you be a hero for Essential Liberty?

Thanks again for your support. Enjoy your long weekend. And we’ll see you on the other side.

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Oppose S.510, the “Make Our Food More Expensive” Act

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Power-hungry statists are never satisfied. Now they’re attempting to use a massive egg recall to shove S. 510, the so-called “Food Safety Modernization Act,” down our throats.

S. 510, through a patchwork of rules and regulations on the food “industry,” will throw America’s heartland under the government-subsidized corporatist bus as it crushes local and community producers of healthy food.

Click here to contact your senators today to tell them to oppose S.510!

Like Cap and Tax, which will guarantee higher energy bills during these rough economic times, S. 510 will further drive up the costs of living by adding more layers of bureaucracy on food production – ensuring you pay more to meet an essential need.

Congress certainly won’t be the one tightening its belt. Section 401 of S. 510 authorizes nearly $1 billion to grow the FDA’s reach and calls for almost 4,000 new bureaucrats to be hired in fiscal year 2010 alone.

This onerous new law will apply harshly to reputable food producers like the independent family farm, where the free market works every day to provide the public with healthy choices.

Meanwhile, Big Agriculture will continue to use its well-entrenched connections to make sure it escapes serious scrutiny.

The statists have worked to replace “credible evidence” with “reasonable probability” in the U.S. Code, giving the FDA power to invade, quarantine, or shut down private property in search of any foodborne illness.

They also changed “presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals” to “is adulterated or misbranded.” What exactly constitutes adulterated? That glass of raw milk? An FDA bureaucrat will decide.

It gets worse.

The bill also grants blanket authority for federal agencies to impose international guidelines and standards on domestic food producers – giving agencies authority to harmonize all American food production and processes in line with the globalist Codex.

It should be noted that Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Richard Burr (R-NC) coordinated to reach a “bipartisan” agreement to forge ahead with the otherwise stalled bill.

If you are a constituent of any of these senators, they especially need to hear from you.

Big Brother and Big Agriculture are combating the truly modern way to improve food safety by targeting the rapidly growing number of food producers who, through the free market, provide diversity and give us choices.

The establishment is pushing for more consolidation and is looking to control your food choices to make it happen. Don’t stomach another round of tyranny. Contact your senators today.

In Liberty,

John Tate, President

Campaign for Liberty

P.S. Gluttonous statists are drooling to pass not only this bill, but other assaults like DISCLOSE and Cap and Tax. If you are able, please chip in $10 today so Campaign for Liberty can stay on the offensive against any infringements on our freedoms. Use the “Share” button below to forward this message to your friends and family.

Patriot’s Assembly Event Tonight!

The United Women’s Forum of Davis County is sponsoring an event this evening (August 31st, 2010) that they have invited Campaign for Liberty members to attend.

What:

  • Come and learn about Americanism and the Founding of our Great Nation
  • Color Guard Presented by The American Legion
  • Speaker: Senator Dan Liljenquist
  • Speaker: Dr. Glenn Kimber of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Constitutional Studies

When:

  • August 31, 2010
  • 7pm to 9pm

Where:

Bountiful American Legion Hall
52 West 200 South
Bountiful, Utah

If arriving via I-15, take the 500 South, Bountiful exit

Cost:

  • Free Admission

Tell your Friends:

Upcoming Events:

There will also be the Freedom Conference at the Radisson Hotel on Saturday, September 18th, 2010.  More information to follow

(via DJ Schanz, Director, Campaign for Liberty, Davis County)

I AM Campaign For Liberty

The purpose of Campaign for Liberty is “To promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a non-interventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity.” This goes hand-in-hand with the Utah Republican Party Platform.

Unlike a party whose purpose is to get their members elected to office, Campaign for Liberty is about keeping those elected officials honest — and to keep them on the right direction.

Recently, Representative Susan Davis (D, California, 53rd District) speaking in favor of the “Incumbent Protection Act” (known officially as the “DISCLOSE Act”), said that her office is getting calls from the Campaign for Liberty, saying “They will not tell us who they are”. Then mockingly asks “Does anybody know who they are?”

Let’s not keep Ms. Davis, nor any of her colleagues in the House or the Senate, in the the dark. Let’s boldly stand up and proclaim I AM Campaign for Liberty.

Film your own short video, upload it to YouTube, tag it “CFL” and “I AM Campaign for Liberty”, then check here to see what you need to include in your email see this page: http://iamcampaignforliberty.com/?page_id=63.

Here’s my contribution:

Now its your turn!

Who is Campaign for Liberty?

During the fight over DISCLOSE (a.k.a. the Establishment Protection Act) this last June, Representative Susan Davis commented on the U.S. House floor that she had been receiving calls from Campaign for Liberty members and tried to use our activism to justify voting for the First Amendment-shredding bill.

In response, C4L members bombarded Davis’ office with phone calls, emails, Facebook messages, and other forms of communication to send the message that Campaign for Liberty is made by and for people who value liberty and our founding principles. One member even presented her with information about C4L during a townhall meeting! Immediately after the C4L member identified herself as such, the audience broke into applause.

If Susan Davis didn’t know who Campaign for Liberty was prior to her speech, she sure does now!

To demonstrate the growth of C4L and highlight our grassroots activists, we’re launching the “I AM Campaign for Liberty” project.

From now until Monday, September 27th, we’re asking our members to submit videos where they proudly state “I AM Campaign for Liberty.”

Content guidelines and other details can found at IamCampaignForLiberty.com.

Show who you are. What is important to you? Why did you join Campaign for Liberty? How are you involved in your community? Feel free to include as many details as you feel comfortable putting in the video.

After the deadline has passed, we’ll make a compilation video of highlighted clips.

“I AM Campaign for Liberty” will show not only the political establishment, but the entire nation, that our organization is made up of real people, with real concerns, who have a voice, and who aren’t going away anytime soon.

This is YOUR opportunity to take a stand and to remind everyone why you’re here, what’s at stake, and what you’re doing about it. It’s also your chance to show the world that everyday people can make a difference.

We hope you’ll help us in this effort to unite under the banner of Campaign for Liberty’s mission and principles as we prepare to face the next assault on liberty from Washington, DC.

Stay tuned to CampaignForLiberty.com for updates on “I AM Campaign for Liberty”!

In Liberty,

Kevin Brett, Production Manager
CampaignForLibery

P.S. DISCLOSE was halted in the Senate thanks in large part to C4L members’ quick actions, but Senate leadership is already working to bring it back up when Congress returns from its August recess.

Click here to get your senators’ contact information and tell them to OPPOSE DISCLOSE.

Big Government Turns Cops into Robbers

The “civil asset forfeiture” laws are inherently corrupt. They empower law enforcement officers to take and keep your property, even if they haven’t charged you with a crime.

It gets worse.

It’s your property that’s actually charged with a crime, and your property is considered guilty until proven innocent. This makes it virtually impossible for you to regain your possessions once they’re seized.

But it gets even worse . . .

This scheme of legalized theft actually fosters additional corruption, as demonstrated in the sample letter below. Please use the new evidence we provide to send Congress another letter arguing that . . .

Civil asset forfeiture laws should be made illegal.

You can send your letter using our Educate the Powerful System, or you may borrow from or copy this sample letter . . .

Civil asset forfeiture corrupts our police. It turns cops into robbers.

Civil asset forfeiture is at the heart of government lawlessness.

  • It disregards the Bill of Rights.
  • It confiscates property from innocent people.

The federal government compounds the problem by cutting-in local law enforcement. They’ve turned the Drug War into a referral program! In a process known as “equitable sharing,” local law enforcement can work with the federal government in pursuit of criminals, and keep as much as 80% of the booty. http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3117&Itemid=165

And where does this money go?

Are you surprised by this corruption? You shouldn’t be.

If confiscating property is an institutional mission, one must worry about the people such a group will employ to carry out that mission. If a government tells its employees that they must steal to meet their budgets – that is, engage in asset forfeiture – then some will rationalize that stealing is okay.

And they’ll steal from their employer, too.

The Institute for Justice has a tantalizing list of how some local posses have spent the loot. http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3117&Itemid=165

Because Congress encourages asset forfeiture, I must ask you: “What about the 5th and 14th Amendments? In other words, what about ‘due process of law?’”

Civil asset forfeiture is unconstitutional. Therefore, I DEMAND that you end all civil asset forfeiture programs.

When you abolish asset forfeiture, you will also reduce government corruption. Better yet, you will send a message to the people that the police really are there to serve and protect — not to steal.

You can send your message through DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

If you know friends who would be as outraged at civil asset forfeiture as we are, please forward them this message and tell them on Facebook.

Thank you for helping grow the Downsize DC Army.

Sincerely,
Jim Babka
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Repeal All the Incumbent Protection Laws

If you want elections to matter, then you need to be able to fire your elected representatives. This is nearly impossible because of the campaign finance laws. These laws are really incumbent protection laws. They make it almost impossible for challengers to raise competitive funding, while doing almost nothing to control the true causes of government corruption.

Downsize DC has led the way in using the courts to challenge the campaign finance laws. Much progress has been made on this front. But there’s still a long way to go. We believe we must open new fronts. We must . . .

  • Persuade our fellow citizens that these laws are fraudulent
  • Tell Congress that we know these laws are fraudulent
  • Demand that Congress repeal them

We have launched a new campaign for this purpose. Please send a letter to Congress asking that the campaign finance laws be repealed.

Please also ask your friends to do the same.

You can copy or borrow from my sample letter . . .

We were told that the campaign finance laws — the contribution limits and the reporting requirements — would curtail or even prevent corruption. Now, with 40 years of experience, we know that they do the exact opposite.

Powerful special interests have more control than ever. While it may be true that campaign contributions “buy” some small amount of access, or influence, it’s very clear that other factors are far more important.

You politicians say yes to special interests because you want to. It makes you feel powerful. You would be of little importance if you constantly said no. Controlling campaign contributions has NO impact on this problem. You would continue to serve special interests even if voluntary campaign contributions were completely prohibited, and all campaigns became tax-funded.

We also know that many politicians retire to lucrative positions working as lobbyists and serving on corporate boards. The politicians who best serve special interests will get the best of these jobs. The campaign finance laws have no impact on this.

Instead, the campaign finance laws actually foster corruption by protecting incumbent office holders in their positions of power. Please know that increasing numbers of Americans are realizing that the campaign finance laws are really incumbent protection laws.

When contributions are limited, one must raise more of them. That seems obvious, right? Incumbents solve this problem through access. Special interests line up to provide clusters of checks for the officeholder to keep his door open. But the challenger, with no real power, is left with a task equivalent to filling a swimming pool with a teaspoon. Who lines up to support the challenger?

When contributions are publicly reported, checks to incumbents are risk-free. But supporting a challenger might close the officeholder’s door, or worse, put a group or industry on the schedule for political retribution.

Thus, challengers are almost always underfunded (unless they are rich). This “underfundedness” creates the following perverse outcome . . .

Congress is hated, but the members of Congress are constantly re-elected.

If something like this were to happen in the private sector you politicians would point to it as a supposed market failure, and you would rush to pass laws about it. But because this is a failure of The State that benefits YOU, the campaign finance laws are strengthened rather than repealed. But surely you must realize . . .

At some point this fraud will become so obvious to so many people that you will lose the consent of the governed, if you have not lost it already.

I want you to honor your Constitutional oath of office. The First Amendment says that Congress shall make NO law curtailing the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. The campaign finance laws do all three. Please introduce legislation to repeal all of the campaign finance laws.

You can send your letter to Congress using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

Please share this message with anyone you know who supports the First Amendment, and who opposes incumbent protection laws.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Where are the appropriations bills?

In February we told you that the federal government’s fiscal year begins October 1, giving Congress eight full months to write, read, and pass the bills needed to fund government departments.

It’s almost September, and not ONE appropriations bill has passed. It’s probable that NONE will pass on time. And it’s a certainty that no member of Congress will read any of them.

This is just the latest evidence that Congress is broken. Fundamental change is needed.

The Read the Bills Act (RTBA) is that change. Please send Congress another letter urging them to pass DownsizeDC.org’s Read the Bills Act.

You may borrow from or copy this letter . . .

How can you be trusted to regulate me, when you can’t even regulate yourselves? This year proved that Congress is broken.

Yet somehow the House found time to pass 261 bills this year, and the Senate passed 137. That’s not counting the dozens of resolutions both chambers passed. You passed everything EXCEPT the bills that keep the government running, which should be your top priority!

  • I know these departmental funding bills, totaling some $3.8 trillion won’t pass on time
  • I know that when you do finally pass them, you won’t have read them
  • Which means you won’t even know how you spent MY money
  • And the bills will be full of secret deals, corruption, and waste

I am thoroughly disgusted and out of patience. A real, working Congress would make the budget a top priority at the beginning of each year. I insist you do one thing to fix yourself. Taking this action will also help your re-election chances. Introduce DownsizeDC.org’s Read the Bills Act. The RTBA will . . .

  • Force Congress to prioritize, so you won’t wait until the last minute to pass needed legislation
  • Keep Congress accountable
  • Create shorter, understandable bills

Introducing the RTBA will show me that you know Congress is broken and needs to be fixed. Introducing this bill will make you a part of the solution, instead of the problem.

You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

We also invite you to add your website or blog to the Read the Bills Act Coalition. Membership will help build awareness about RTBA, and in return we will list your site on our main page and mention it to our over 30,000 subscribers. You can learn more at the DownsizeDC.org site.

Finally, this month the Senate passed 23 bills totaling 773 pages, and the House passed two bills totaling 62 pages. You can see descriptions of the bills on our blog.

James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.