National Service Corps Bill Clears Senate Hurdle

nytimes.com ^ | 3/23/09 | Kate Phillips

[mtnwmn]

Congress has been self-serving for a long time. The state legislatures are trying their best to immulate them. We the people better get our act together and pay close attention, very close attention to the Feds and the local and state governmet.

[polymuser]

HR1388 is before the Senate TODAY at 11 am.

[joygrace]

I would like to send a letter to all those pubs who voted for this and have several friends who would engage in this as well. Could someone provide a handful of objections that I might include in my text to make a concise and to the point letter?

Hi Old Blonde Babe, Below is a fax I sent to my Rep. I sent it before the House voted last Wednesday. I hope you can use some of the points in the letter to help with your charge today. You can update it by replacing "House" with "Senate" etc.

FYI. Sent my Representative this email (even though he is a Democrat), he is still my Rep. in the House. I sent a copy to Pence, Cantor, and Boehner for their reference.


Dear Representative Ed Markey,

I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Amit Mistry from your office yesterday afternoon. He indicated your support of HR1388, GIVE Act, scheduled for consideration in the House today. I am against this Bill because it is unconstitutional and undemocratic.

HR 1388 is only allotted one hour for debate with 11 Amendments to discuss. Does this sound reasonable to you? There are constitutional rights and billions of dollars at stake here as you are well aware. Your constituents deserve better from their Congress, wouldn’t you agree? Please ask the Speaker for more debate time to allow for a full vetting of this Bill. I believe she will listen to you.

Volunteering made mandatory by our government is offensive to many millions of Americans including ones in Massachusetts. It is beyond words to adequately describe my objection to this GIVE Act but I will share with you just a few of my key concerns, which Mr. Mistry kindly invited me to submit to you for your review and consideration:

a. It is not the role of government to create and fund, with taxpayer’s money, its own voluntary society, let alone micromanage them. That is what HR1388 will do if passed.

b. This Bill, if passed, would indeed allow our politicians who support this Bill, a unique means of manipulating public policy for their own agenda or ideology. It is undemocratic.

c. For example, I am particularly disturbed by the Administration’s belief it is their job to encourage VOLUNTEER service to Baby Boomers, the elderly and our children while recklessly using taxpayer’s money to fund it. It is offensive. It is not their job.

What does our future hold for America with yet another layer of government on top of what we already have to support? We will all have to experience the burden of more and more taxes and a higher price for all services and goods. We will fall deeper into a debt reliance on foreign countries if current spending habits continue and are left unchecked.

Representative Markey, what about our true North Star that represent our true fiscal health in America: our dollar? What will the value of our precious currency be in 2014? Perhaps, the value will have disintegrated to such a degree that we will have to succumb to a one world global currency? Is that what you really want for us Representative Markey? I don’t want this vision for our country at all. Please reconsider your position.

d. As mentioned before, this Bill commits billions of dollars in wasteful spending and only serves to undermine our Constitutional rights (13th Amendment, our beloved Preamble, etc). Representative Markey, the 111th Congress needs to be more prudent, with respect, about anymore additional spending but especially wasteful spending.

As you know there is no such thing, as President Obama likes to say frequently, “…it is the government’s money.” No sir, I must strongly disagree here with our President. As you know, “it” is the American citizen’s hard earned taxpayer money. Again with respect, please remind your colleagues of this crucial fact as you carefully deliberate this Bill today.

Finally, the American people don’t want to pay taxes so their government can implement another layer of red tape and control. HR1388 is definitely not what America needs.

As you are aware, many of the co-sponsors for this Bill are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also known as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). This raises a RED FLAG.

The language in this Bill is alarming to put it mildly, as well. It is unconstitutional and undemocratic.

Please note the use of “mandatory” in this legislation. Its use is a serious issue, as far as, our freedoms are concerned. The actual text is in Section 6104 (b) 5-7, in particular. The other Section to make note is in Section 120, 3(B) where the word “mandatory” is used again. This language is socialistic and fascist and the true meaning behind is cause for serious concern.

As you are aware, the Senate is also working on a Bill similar to HR 1388, called Kennedy/Hatch Serve America Act (S.277) and it is riddled with the same problems as HR 1388.

I know AIG, the Budget, etc. are capturing most of your attention and energy, as well they should, but I ask you to reconsider your position on HR 1388 and please vote “No” on HR1388, respectfully.

I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXX
Massachusetts concerned citizen

[DBrow]

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s277rs.txt.pdf

Here is the current bill “as reported in the Senate” GPO version. The better, interactive site I’m having trouble with.

The plans to make the Resident Camps (ah, campuses) mandatory are not in this version, but the whole scheme to have big camps in rural areas where 18-24 yo yoot go to be “trained” is in there, uniforms and all. No talk about paying the yoot, but they get “recreation”.

[MrB]

From what I can tell, the shirts will be “oxford blue”.

[DBrow]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-277

This iste is better than GPO for researching bills (references to US Code are links).

[DBrow]

They’ll look sort of like hippies, back when hippies wore jeans and “work shirts”, all in pale blue.

Wonder what color banner they’ll have when marching from their dorms to the “infrastructure improvement” project site.

[Nachum]

The List, ping

(thanks to Jet Jaguar for the heads up)

[polymuser]

.
H.R. 1388 G.I.V.E. Act

SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

(a) Prohibited Activities- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities:

(1) Attempting to influence legislation.

(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.

(3) Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing.

(4) Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements.

(5) Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office.

(6) Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials.

(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.

(8) Providing a direct benefit to—

(A) a business organized for profit;

(B) a labor organization;

(C) a partisan political organization;

(D) a nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 except that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and

(E) an organization engaged in the religious activities described in paragraph (7), unless Corporation assistance is not used to support those religious activities.

(9) Conducting a voter registration drive or using Corporation funds to conduct a voter registration drive.

(10) Such other activities as the Corporation may prohibit.
.

[Travis T. OJustice]

So, while one “volunteers”, they lose their constitutional rights?

[LibertyRocks]

Thanks, I’ll have to read that over, I really appreciate the link!

Even IF they aren’t going to do a mandatory feasibility study, what do you want to bet they’ll either pass it at a later date, or make it so that it’s hard to live your life unless you’ve given your time? I don’t trust these people one bit - not one.

[LibertyRocks]

Yep, that’s what I got out of that too... What’s interesting is that there was some wording about this being a permanent cadre, and that people would be subject to being called-in in case of an emergency. One wonders what kind of restrictions will be placed on these people when they are in the “reserves”.

[DBrow]

No service, no college degree. Older? No health care.

I see no reason to think an American totalitarian state would be different than the others.

On the other hand, this is not Europe, nor is it 1935. This is America now, and imposing European communism may not be as easy.

[SnarlinCubBear]

ping-a-roo

[LibertyRocks]

I think the most modern example of the type of group Obama is perhaps looking to create might be along the lines of "Putin's Youth". There were a bunch of articles about these young folks right before Medvedev's election...

Not quite the same, but one thing that REALLY bothers me about this is the restriction to even PARTICIPATE in religious worship while a member of these volunteer programs??? How on EARTH can that possibly be Constitutional? I guess the Atheists may be happy, but EVERY other religion -- I can't imagine Muslims, for instance, going along with this... They wouldn't be allowed to pray 5 times/day.

Sex for the motherland: Russia Youths Encouraged to Procreate at Camps
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1872937/posts

[longtermmemmory]

influencing legislation may be a problem under free speech.

does this mean if a group wants to ask for legislation for sidewalks or pothole filling then they will not be able to do it?

issue advocasy would seem free speech ok.

[Travis T. OJustice]

That’s some scary s4it!

[HollyB]

Heads up, 444

Thanks for the ping, Nachum

[DBrow]

“SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.”

That section is not in the final House version nor in the version currently before the Senate.

That would mean that they CAN do voter registration and so forth, I don’t see where they can’t in the Senate version. I posted links to the GPO and Govtrack versions so you can look.

[LibertyRocks]

I agree with you on all points... I still think the majority of Americans just want to be “left alone” and will not take kindly to this. Obama will be surprised no doubt, but I’d bet at least HALF of those people who voted for him will NOT like the way things are going when they finally hear about these new laws, or see them enacted and in action.