CongressDays.7

Congress Day 7 - Friday 23 April 2010
Today we continued debate and voting on our legislation.

Procedure: Once passed by majority, the bills go to the White House for signing. That is a [|dice roll], and 7 or 11 = a veto, sent back to the Congress for override by 2/3 majority.

Results of Voting are/will be posted on the Results page. The voting order in Congress is called the Calendar. Here's the calendar for each section, of bills not yet voted:

Section 01
**Considered** Discussion began with whether fingerprints of tiny infants taken at birth could even physically/scientifically work for a national fingerprint registry. Could immigrants be fingerprinted upon entrance to US? Pointed out that not all enter legally. Question of whether people will comply; hence the hefty fines. Could there be a Fingerprint Day? Is the courthouse/polling place/ town hall procedure going to run smoothly? Are there any religious considerations here (eg Amish?)? In favor: this bill does not aim to solve all crimes, but just to help focus law enforcement efforts on whether a crime has been committed by a citizen or not.
 * 113.9 - Finger Printing Bill**

The bill is unclear, in one place it specifies a new day of 9/11 remembrance on the first Tuesday of September, but elsewhere it names the second Tuesday. Bill postponed/tabled pending clarification and re-wording of the bill.
 * 113.25 - Remembrance Day for 9/11**

Is this unconstitutional under the 13th Amendment, because it's similar to slavery? Concerns: suitability of prisoners to certain kinds of jobs; access of prisoners to tools, sharp objects, computers, and telephones... could be problematic. In favor: No, because crimes are not committed involuntarily. This bill might also prevent outsourcing, eg of call centers, overseas. Prison is supposed to be harsh, rather than finding ways for prisoners to "earn" luxuries like TVs or better quality room/board. Might this reduce recidivism, or reduce the overall costs to taxpayers of prison sentences, if prisoners earned part or all of their keep. What about womens v. men's prisons?
 * 113.18 - Prison Work System, to Raise Revenue & Provide Prisoner Incentives & Training**

Section 06
**Considered** concerns about hurting trade with Japan and China. Would affect trade balance. People currently have the option to purchase US-made electronics but obviously choose not to because the prices are higher. If prices were raised on imported electronics, consumers would no longer have this option.
 * 113.13 - Raise Electronics Tariff**

Opposed: just because something is common practice does not make it ethical nor should it become legal. Musical artists are entitled to profit from their intellectual property. This bill seems a slippery slope to permitting other kinds of intellectual property theft and to undermining the copyright system. Opposed: this law is impractical because the internet cannot be policed and law enforcement cannot be expected to go after every small-fish downloader. This is pointless and hard to enforce. Opposed: the law misplaces the perpetrator; it should be the ISP's job to prevent illegality. Fine the ISP, not the user and let the ISP keep track. Concerned: how about user privacy? If there are hefty fines imposed for internet activity this sets a dangerous precedent. Amendment proposed to tie the fines to the amount you'd be fined if you shoplifted an album from a record store. In favor: the bill's emphasis on profiteering seems reasonable. The ISP issue is a red herring, that will be covered under anti-trust laws.
 * 113.23 - Legalizing Music Downloading over Peer-to-Peer Networks**

Concerns: full-body scans are overkill for every passenger. This bill would increase # of guns on flights, increasing chances for hijackers to get hold of one. Such a big inconvenience of the majority to find a needle-in-haystack tiny minority of risky passengers. Seems extreme. Seems "Soviet Union." Will be time consuming and expensive. Might even be traumatic to the elderly, the very young, and the mentally challenged. In favor: at least it doesn't perpetuate racial profiling, since it applies to all passengers. Is standing in a longer line really such an inconvenience if a horrible airline disaster can be prevented? Are we sacrificing safety for convenience? Amended: airports shall add enough personnel to prevent longer lines. Amendment defeated.
 * 113.11 - Airport Security, Stepped-Up Screening of All Passengers on All Flights**

Are such accidents really accidents, how many are suicides? Bill provides no stats to establish if this is a major problem or not. Would be very costly to light the tracks and provide barriers all along the ways. Would lights even make that much difference? Alternative proposal: track sensors, and better train brakes. Concern: would crossing animals trigger the sensors, in rural/wilderness stretches of track? Concerns: aren't RR tracks private property? What's federal jurisdiction here? Is the real question pedestrian awareness or train braking time?
 * 113.12 - Railroad Security - Bill would light/erect barriers to tracks to prevent pedestrian deaths**

Opposed: this seems like a local/state issue, and apparently mandates things which are (or should be) already happening. What about funding, when local budgets for salt/ice/snow/plowing have been exceeded? Applicable outside winter-weather areas?
 * 113.5 - Highway Safety - increased plowing, signage, enforcement of speed limits**