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Federal
Register Watch by Mike Powers April
14 - 18, 2003
The Federal
Register is the official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules,
and Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive
Orders and other Presidential Documents.
This column attempts to summarize the highlights (or lowlights)
of the Federal Register during the preceding week. Instructions
for subscribing to the Federal Register can be found at the end of the
column. APRIL
14, 2003: HEALTH
AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT (HHS) - The
HHS is seeking public comment and review on a proposed research topic
entitled “The Effects of Evening Ingestion of Alcohol on Sleep,
Circadian Phase, and Performance as a Function of Parental History of
Alcohol Abuse/Dependence.” The
proposed research will be supported by a (taxpayer
provided) grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health,
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. According
to the HHS, this research protocol “proposes to study the
effects of a small or moderate evening dose of alcohol on sleep,
waking performance, and circadian (24-hour period) phase in
a total of 64 adolescents (15
to 16 years of age) and young adults (21 to 22 years of age), and
examine how the effects may differ between individuals who have a parent
with a history of alcohol dependence and those who do not.” Yes,
this research protocol, overseen by the federal government and paid for
with taxpayer funds, proposes to give alcohol to minors to see how it affects their
ability to sleep and function the following day.
Isn’t this the same government that imposes severe criminal
penalties on storeowners who sell alcohol to minors? In
the 1980s, the government told kids to “Just Say No To Drugs.”
In 2003, they are saying “Just Say Yes” to alcohol – as
long as it is taken under the supervision of a state health care worker. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-9051.htm SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION – Notice of “economic injury loans” to small businesses located in various counties throughout West Virginia due to damages caused by “a severe winter storm, record snow, heavy rains, flooding and landslides occurring on February 16, 2003, and continuing through March 28, 2003.” With
the government providing business subsidies after disasters, why would
anyone bother with buying insurance on their own?
Another example of government intervention that eliminates the need for personal
responsibility. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-9056.htm APRIL
15, 2003: FEDERAL
ELECTION COMMISSION – These
proposed rules implement the “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.”
Supporters of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also called the
McCain-Feingold law, which bans the large campaign contributions known
as soft money, say it will curb corruption in politics. Opponents say it
is an insidious attempt to criminalize political free speech. Either
way, the bill is designed to assist the efforts of entrenched
politicians from both parties to remain in power. Also, the bill further reinforces the State’s legitimacy to force taxpayers to fund presidential candidates and their political conventions. In essence, this makes the receiving candidates and their political parties little more than high profile welfare recipients. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-8761.htm APRIL
17, 2003: AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (AMS) – This notice instructs that a continuance referendum be held among eligible growers of cranberries in the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York to determine whether they favor continuance of the marketing order regulating the handling of cranberries grown in the production area. Marketing
orders imposed by the Department of Agriculture forcibly
subject growers to regulation and handling standards.
Additionally, growers are compelled to finance generic ads aimed
at boosting their entire industry. These
marketing orders cover growers in just about every agricultural
industry, including dairy products, pork, beef, eggs, and even
cranberries. The
“Got Milk?” ads are
probably the best-known marketing order ads.
Yet, dairy farmers and other milk producers are assessed about $250
million a year for the popular ads, often against their will.
Dairy farmers say they are being forced to spend about 1% of
their gross, an amount that often
exceeds their net income. The
only way for growers to lawfully escape these onerous fees and
regulations is via the continuance referendum.
Yet, the USDA will not consider termination of the order if more than 50 percent of
the growers who vote in the referendum and growers of more than 50
percent of the volume of cranberries represented in the referendum favor continuance of the program. In
other words, all cranberry growers will be forced
to remain in the program if the majority supports the program. This is a
great example of the tyranny of majority rule.
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-9409.htm COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION (CCC) –
TOBACCO
PAYMENT PROGRAM This
rule implements the Tobacco Payment Program authorized by the Agricultural Assistance
Act of 2003. Section 205 of that Act requires the Commodity Credit
Corporation to provide assistance
to producers of tobacco. According
to the CCC, payments to eligible persons in 2003 are estimated to total $55
million dollars! First,
the states sued the tobacco companies, resulting in a 1998 settlement
that will pay them nearly $250
billion over 25 years to pay for tobacco prevention and cessation
programs. Then, the federal
government sues the tobacco companies in 1999 to recover billions of
taxpayer dollars spent on smoking related health care costs – a suit
that was later thrown out by a federal judge. It
was no surprise when many states
failed to keep their promise to use the money for tobacco prevention
programs. Instead,
greedy, power hungry politicians spent the money on new programs and
pork spending aimed at appeasing voters.
Now,
state and federal governments use taxpayer dollars to subsidize the very
industry the tried to sue out of existence!
A
contradiction? Not in the least. The
false concern shown by the state and federal tobacco money grabbers for
the health and welfare of the citizens is just that – a fraud.
In
fact, it is in the state and federal governments’ best interest to keep the
tobacco companies solvent and prosperous – because the government
makes more money off tobacco sales than the tobacco companies do. In
2003, the states will receive $20.3 billion in tobacco-generated revenue, including $8.7
billion in tobacco settlement payments and $11.6 billion in tobacco
taxes. And last year, the
federal government raised nearly $7.5 billion in federal excise taxes on tobacco products alone. The state
and federal governments have a compelling interest to encourage tobacco
use among its citizens,
not to discourage it. Just
follow the tax money. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-9319.htm To
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list (or change settings); then follow the instructions. Link to the current edition of Federal Register Watch at www.strike-the-root.com/3/frw/frw.html
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