Pages From Life

[T L Cole]

Eagles Eye: An Open Letter to the 111th Congress

“It becomes every well wisher of his Country, to keep an Eagle Eye upon every innovation and stretch of power, in those that have the rule over us.” B. Church 1772

A recent instance of this we have in bill H.R. 146: Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Management Act of 2009. How this amendment came to be is what concerns those Battlefield Protection Act and the amending of this bill with S.22: Omnibus Public Land represented by the 111th Congress. Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 is a 1,300 page document with 170 pieces of legislation that passed the Senate but was defeated in the house by failing to receive the required two-thirds majority. Senator Reid in an attempt to negate the normal process found bill H.R. 146: Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act that was scheduled for a quick vote in the Senate and that only required a simple majority vote in the House; he amended the two page H.R. 146 bill with the 1,300 page S.22. On March 19, 2009 the amended bill passed the Senate and was sent to the House where six days later it obtained the lower threshold of a simple majority with virtually no debate and no option to change the amendment. On March 30, 2009 President Obama signed the bill into law.

The process that was taken in nullifying the failure of S.22 to pass the House and then to be fast tracked into law as an amendment to an unrelated bill requires the questioning of those represented by these Senators and Congressmen. Aside from how the new law affects millions of citizens and businesses as relating to 2.1 million acres of public land use there is a greater concern of whether we will see more of this type of creativity in fast tracking into law bills without full representation and debate? Is it not ludicrous that a law that fails to obtain the required votes can immediately be revived as a 1,300 page amendment to a 2 page bill? I ask of my elected representatives to explain their position on such law making and how they will respond to such attempts in the future?

“We are sure your wisdom, your regard to yourselves and the rising Generation, cannot suffer you to dose, or set supinely indifferent on the brink of destruction, while the Iron hand of oppression is dayly tearing the choicest Fruit from the fair Tree of Liberty, planted by our worthy Predecessors, at the expense of their treasure, and abundantly water’d with their blood.”
The above excerpt is from “A Letter of Correspondence with the other Towns”, Boston – 1772