This week in Congress

The big event in the U.S. Senate this week is the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of former Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent and gun control lobbyist David Chipman to head the ATF. The vote is scheduled for Thursday. Mr. Chipman’s past work as an advocate of gun control already gives pro- Second Amendment activists reason to oppose his nomination, but his confirmation hearing on May 26 gave us even more reason to oppose him. During the hearing, Mr. Chipman endorsed an assault weapons ban but refused to define assault weapons—suggesting he favors an open-ended ban that would allow the ATF to redefine any gun as an assault weapon. This is similar to how the ATF is trying to redefine pistols with stabilizers as “rifles.” As detailed in Dr. Paul’s column this week, the hearing also discussed Chipman’s past statements saying the federal records of people who have failed a background check and thus cannot purchase a firearm gives the government “…. a perfect opportunity to arrest people before committing crimes rather than responding after the fact.” In trying to defend his position, Chipman stated that “law-abiding citizens can become criminals.” This statement suggests that Chipman, even though he is himself a gun owner, believes gun owners should be treated as guilty until proven innocent by the federal government, and thus subject to a massive surveillance state and the threat of being subjected to the ATF’s version of “Red Flag Laws.” You can read Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul’s statement in opposition to Chipman here. The House will consider H.R. 256, which repeals the 2002 authorization of use of military force with Iraq. It has been eighteen years since the US invaded Iraq — it is long past time to end the war. You can read Ron Paul on the lies behind the Iraq war here. The House will also consider HR 1187, which requires companies to report to shareholders certain “…. environmental, social, and governance metric and their connection to the long-term business strategy of the issuer.” It also creates a Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee to recommend policies the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can adopt to “facilitate the flow of capital to environmentally sustainable investments.” In other words, this is a way to implement the Green New Deal via SEC regulations encouraging investors to put their money behind companies favored by the government because they have a positive environmental impact. Such policies will distort markets, thus reducing efficacy, raising prices, and lowering our standard of living and reducing our liberty.