Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch…
Yes, you read that right. A member of Congress has informed a DC Downsizer that they will sponsor the Read the Bills Act!!!!!
When all the details are finalized we’ll tell you who it is. This could happen quickly. This will mean the ball is now in play, and it’s up to us to run the bases! But before we move forward . . .
We need to make RTBA even stronger!
We’ve been monitoring the discussion about RTBA on the Internet. People have been talking about RTBA. Everyone likes it, but many think it will be impossible to pass, and that Congress will evade it if it does pass. Our response is . . .
No one in Congress wants to tell the public they shouldn’t have to read the laws they pass. There are a host of tactics we can use to force every member of Congress to take a public stand. And those who dare to say no must get special attention. All we need is enough supporters and enough resources to apply the pressure.
Is this possible? If it isn’t, then what is?
If something as obvious and universally popular as RTBA is impossible to pass, then what chance is there for less popular methods of controlling our oppressive, out-of-control government? None it would seem. And all the scholars, pundits, and advocates calling for smaller government are simply wasting their time – whining and complaining about big government to no purpose.
We take the opposite view. Instead, why not propose a concrete change that millions of people would actually support? That’s the approach we’ve taken. That’s what the Read the Bills Act is.
But those who are wondering how Congress would try to evade RTBA are on the right track. RTBA needs to have teeth!
So far we’ve heard only one reasonable idea for how Congress might evade the restrictions RTBA would impose on their behavior. Here it is . . .
Congress will make bills easier to read by shortening them and delegating the details to the Executive Branch bureaucracy to flesh out in the form of new regulations.
They already do this with virtually every bill they pass and have been doing this for the last 75 or so years. In legal circles, they call this “delegation.”
But we recognize that if RTBA passes in its present form there will be an additional incentive for Congress to leave even more of the details to un-elected bureaucrats.
We have a plan to prevent this.
RTBA aims to force Congress to do its job responsibly. One of our themes for promoting RTBA is “no legislation without representation.” But did you elect any bureaucrats to represent you? I sure didn’t. Is it right that thousands of unelected bureaucrats should be writing rules to govern your life? We don’t think so.
It all began with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. It was then that Congress began delegating more and more of its legislative responsibility to the Executive Branch bureaucracy. This is wrong. It violates the separation of powers. Congress has no authority to delegate any of its legislative power to the Executive Branch, to the bureaucracy, or to anyone else.
We want to codify this in statutory law by adding a new provision to RTBA.
We’ll call it the “no REGULATION without representation” provision. Congress must write, read, debate, and pass ALL regulations, not the bureaucracy. We think this new provision will make RTBA virtually air-tight, and even more popular with the public.
Why? Because . . .
If a rule is to be imposed on you, then Congress will have to write it, Congress will have to read it, and Congress will have to vote to pass it. The days of the un-elected bureaucratic legislature will be over.
But we need your help to do the legal work required to craft this new provision, and we need it NOW. Frankly, we weren’t expecting to have a sponsor so soon. We thought we had more work to do and more time to weather the usual holiday season financial downturn and prepare to come out fighting in January. But now we no longer have the luxury to wait. We must . . .
- Pay for the legal research and draft our new “no regulation without representation” provision now,
- So the new strengthened RTBA can be introduced in Congress as soon as possible.
- And we must prepare to do all of the things that will be required to promote legislation that is formally available to Congress to consider.
We have a host of new tactics to promote RTBA that we were going to start rolling out in January, but now we must be ready to do some of them sooner. And we must have RTBA in its final form right away!
This is urgent. Can you help us? Can you make a special holiday contribution to Downsize DC to pay for the immediate work we need to do with RTBA. We think we need at least $6,000 to cover the basic things we need urgently. If you can help with some or all of this amount click here to make your contribution.
We’re putting the ball in play, and we need your help now. Thank you for being a DC Downsizer.
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
P.S. I’ve got be honest with you. Our normal holiday downturn in income has indeed happened. November was bad, and December has been worse. Frankly, as we get this fantastic news and as we’re crossing milestones in registered DC Downsizers and number of messages sent to Congress (as explained on our blog), our bank account is dwindling. I’ve already committed to start the legal research, but we couldn’t afford to commit to finish it. That’s why we need your help right now.
Please, make the biggest contribution you can. We could use a $1,000 donor, or two $500 donors to this appeal. And, if you can only afford $10 or $25, please consider making a monthly pledge. Over the course of the year you could contribute much more than you’d be capable of in a one-time contribution.