The Senate Heeds Your Call to Protect Your Right to Stay Informed on Pro-Family Issues

By Chadd Hodges - Jan 19, 2007 - 1

Heeding the voice of countless Americans, the Senate last night passed Sen. Robert Bennett’s (R-UT) amendment, 55-43, to strike from an ethics reform bill provisions that would greatly encumber grassroots activities by encroaching upon one of our most basic constitutional liberties: the right to be informed and petition the government.

Section 220 of the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 included provisions that would require most grassroots organizations to track and submit to Congress detailed reports of all communications with government leaders and all activities that inform and encourage people to contact Congress. It also mandated quarterly reporting by grassroots organizations every three months on activities to inform 500 or more people on public policy; non-compliant organizations would face severe fines. The costs of tracking and compiling these intrusive reports would certainly be too burdensome for many organizations, forcing them to curb their level of communication with the American people or simply close operations.

Thankfully, Sen. Bennett recognized the crippling effect of Section 220 and introduced an amendment to strike the section from S. 1. Seven Democrats joined 48 Republicans in passage of the Bennett amendment last night, effectively eliminating Section 220 from the bill. Less than an hour later, the Senate overwhelmingly passed S. 1 by a 96-2 vote.

Without the efforts of thousands of concerned citizens like you and organizations like the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the Senate may have passed this bill with Section 220 intact, infringing upon your right and ability to stay informed on issues of faith and family.

Thank you for contacting your senators and encouraging them to vote for the Bennett Amendment to strike Section 220 from S. 1. Thanks to your efforts, your voice was heard and will continue to be heard.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Citizenship, Christian Citizenship, Legislation, National

1 comments (post your own) feed

1 On Jan 22nd, 2007, at 8:00pm, Paul Warren wrote:

It is good to know we still live the land of the free and the homeof the brave. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for this freedom.

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