Quote of the Day:
"We were not made to serve the state, but the state was made to serve us."
-- Jason Kuznicki

Subject: Vote on omnibus bill still pending

A vote is still pending on S. 3297, the "Advancing America’s Priorities Act" (America's priorities? Where do they get these bill names?). This means we still have time to oppose it.

This bill groups together 36 completely different legislative proposals. What if your Senator strongly opposes most of these proposals, but votes for the whole package because he feels one specific proposal simply must be passed? If many Senators feel this way then than we end up with a lot of laws and programs that could not have passed on their own merits.

Please send Congress a message asking them to pass DownsizeDC.org's "One Subject at a Time Act." Use your personal comments to also ask your Senators to vote against S. 3297 because it contains too many unrelated proposals. You can send your message here (remember to hit your refresh button if you get a white screen).

You can also use your personal comments to mention specific parts of S. 3297 if you want to. A full listing of the measures packaged together in S. 3297 is provided below, courtesy of the good work of Jim Harper at his WashingtonWatch.com blog.

Also, we've made a lot of progress with our fundraising drive. We started out needing more than $5,000, and we're now down to needing less than $2,000, with four days left until the deadline. If you want to help you can contribute here.

Here's the list of measures packaged in S. 3297, followed by their cost to you . . .

HEALTHCARE PROVISIONS

* S. 1382, the ALS Registry Act - $0.62
* S. 1183, the Christoper and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act - $0.85
* S. 999, the Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act
* H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act - $0.16
* S. 1117, the Vision Care for Kids Act of 2008
* S. 1810, the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act - $0.17

JUDICIARY PROVISIONS

* H.R. 5524, the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008
* S. 535, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act of 2007 - $0.58
* S. 2304, the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008 - $4.34
* H.R. 4120, the Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act of 2007
* H.R. 4136, the Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography Act of 2007
* S. 1210, the Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007 - $0.18
* S. 1079, the Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission Act - $0.03
* S. 1738, the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 (Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007) - $4.93

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS PROVISIONS

* H.R. 2964, the Captive Primate Safety Act - $0.15
* S. 2707, the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Continuing Authorization Act - $0.04
* S. 2844, the Beach Protection Act of 2008 - $2.56
* S. 496, the Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 2008

FOREIGN RELATIONS PROVISIONS

* H.R. 1469, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2008 - $3.76
* H.R. 1084, the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008 - $5.75
* H.R. 2798, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Reauthorization of Act of 2008 - $0.66
* S. 2020, the Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2008 - $0.65
* H.R. 1678, the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2008 - $0.93
* H.R. 3320, the Support for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Act of 2008 - $0.05

COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION PROVISIONS

* S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act - $1.85
* S. 675, the Training for Realtime Writers Act of 2007 - $0.62
* H.R. 3352, the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act Amendments of 2008 - $5.92
* H.R. 1834, the NOAA Undersea Research Program Act of 2008 (National Ocean Exploration Program Act) - $2.36
* H.R. 2400, the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act - $1.03
* H.R. 5618, the National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2008 - $2.69
* S. 950, the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2008 - $6.36
* H.R. 4174, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2008 - $0.70

HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS PROVISIONS

* S. 1446, the National Capital Transportation Amendments Act of 2008 - $10.40
* H.R. 390, the Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act - $0.12
* S. 3175, the Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act of 2008 - $6.18

RULES AND ADMINISTRATION PROVISIONS

* H.R. 5492, To authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to construct a greenhouse facility at its museum support facility in Suitland, Maryland, and for other purposes - $0.02

You can send your message here.

You can contribute here

Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC army.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.