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The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives will be out of Washington, D.C. and back home from Friday, August 2, through Sunday, September 8.
This will be a great opportunity for you to personally contact your Representatives and Senators. In this update, I will provide details of how you can take actions to make a difference on legislation in Congress.
You can meet with your Representative and Senators during August
The best way of influencing your members of Congress is to meet with them “eye to eye” when they are back in your district and your state. If it is not possible to personally meet with them, arrange to talk with them on the phone.
There are several important issues that you can speak to them about:
HR 809
HR 809 by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and 86 cosponsors, to prohibit the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from purchasing agriculture lands in the United States, was introduced on February 2, 2023.
Text - H.R.809 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
The bill was referred to both the House Agriculture Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. However, in 18 months, neither committee has given a hearing to this bill.
The chairmen of the committees have the authority to schedule hearings but have not done so. The Chairman of the Agriculture Committee is Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA). The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee is Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX).
Please thank the cosponsors of HR 809 Cosponsors - H.R.8693 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): To prohibit certain businesses and persons from purchasing real estate adjacent to covered Federal lands in the United States, and for other purposes. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress and ask them to use their influence with the committee chairmen, Rep. Thompson and Rep. McCaul, to schedule hearings of this bill immediately.
Frustrated that no hearing has been held on HR 809, on June 11, 2024, Rep. Newhouse and 49 cosponsors introduced more limited legislation, HR 8693, to prohibit the PRC from purchasing land adjacent to federal properties. HR 8693 was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee, but so far, it too has not been given a hearing by Rep. McCaul.
S 684
In the Senate, S 684, This Land Is Our Land Act, a similar bill to HR 809, has been introduced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), but it has no cosponsors. It has been referred to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. However, the chairman, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), has not scheduled a hearing on it.
HR 734
Several Grassroots Leaders of The Conservative Caucus have expressed a strong support for HR 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) and 93 cosponsors. This bill passed the House on April 20, 2023 by a vote of 219-203. All Republicans voted for it, while all Democrats voted against it.
HR 734 was received in the Senate on April 25, 2023, but no action has been taken on it. The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not even referred the bill to a committee.
An identical Senate companion bill to S 734, S 613, by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) was introduced on March 1, 2023. S 613 was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, but the committee chairman, Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), has not scheduled a hearing on it.
Keep in mind that, in contacting members of Congress, everyone can be influenced to one degree or another. It may not be possible to switch support or opposition to a bill, per se, but by visiting or calling your Senators or Representative, you can influence the intensity of support or opposition a legislator has for legislation.
If a conservative legislator is already on your side on an issue, giving him or her a “pat on the back” will encourage them to keep fighting for it and will cancel out the opposition to it that he or she is receiving from liberals.
Likewise, if a Senator or Representative is on the other side of an issue from you, letting them hear directly from you may very well cause that legislator to take a less prominent role in what they do and say on that issue.
Both of your Senators and your Representative should hear from you on a regular basis.
Other important matters:
Voter Registration
Are you and all members of your family registered to vote? Do you know of anyone at your church who needs to register or update their registration? In order to vote in November, citizens must be registered at their current address.
To register or change their registration, contact your local county official who handles this. That person may be the country clerk or someone else. Call the main number for your county government to ask who is responsible for voter registration. When you find out, call that office and find out the procedure in your county. There is not uniform procedure. It is different from place to place.
You may need to pass along this useful information to persons who are not registered at the address where they now live.
Volunteer to be a Poll Watcher
A new poll from Rassmussen Reports and the Heartland Institutes found that 62% of likely voters—and 83% of persons who voted for President Trump in 2000--are concerned that cheating will affect the outcome of the 2024 election. 62% Concerned About Election Cheating - Rasmussen Reports®
A previous poll by the Heartland Institute in December 2023 found that more than one in five voters admitted to voting fraudulently during the 2020 election, including voting using a previous address. And an April 2024 poll found that 28% of likely voters stated that they would cheat in the upcoming November election if given the opportunity.
And once votes are cast, there is the serious problem of the improper counting and tabulations of the results.
Accordingly, poll watchers at each precinct are desperately needed.
Please contact the county headquarters of your political party to volunteer now to be a poll watcher. Of course, you will need to be trained in election laws and procedures. And when you observe something wrong, you will learn how to object to improper procedures, as well as what can be done immediately if your objections are not heeded.
Your efforts as a poll watcher could single-handedly make the difference in the outcome of the elections for president, Congress, and state and local offices.
There may be training sessions already occurring now near you. If not, they will likely begin soon. Please sign up NOW.
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