Congressman Kratovil,
Too many agencies, like the FDA and EPA, have too much unconstitutional power over our lives. They make laws and initiate programs without Congressional approval or the people’s consent.
The FTC, however, is somewhat reigned in. It has authority to investigate commercial fraud, but has no independent rulemaking authority.
This is how it should be. The Constitution provides for a separation of powers between the legislative and executive power.
But Rep. Henry Waxman managed to insert into the House financial “regulation” bill broad new powers to the FTC. I understand that Sen. Rockefeller wants similar language in the Senate version. http://tinyurl.com/2b6ctt7
YOU MUST OPPOSE THIS!
With these new powers, the FTC could impose costly red tape on small businesses before they can put their products to market.
For instance, it could force vitamin producers to undergo expensive trials to “prove” their claims are true.
Vitamins and other nutritional supplements would be treated as drugs, not as food. And that small-sounding change has huge implications. This change would . . .
* create huge increases in supplement costs, meaning that
* many vitamin manufacturers and distributors would be driven out of the market, reducing my dietary and health choices.
This would also undermine the will of the people, who overwhelmingly told Congress to oppose John McCain’s Food Supplement bill and prevented its insertion into the Food Safety bill. Are you determined to ignore the will of the people?
To make matters worse, the FTC would have the power to bully other industries the same way. But we’ve suffered enough under the tyranny of unelected regulators. Don’t make us suffer even more under the FTC!
Oppose any amendment that empowers the FTC or regulates vitamins and supplements in the financial regulation bill. Instead, introduce DownsizeDC.org’s Write the Laws Act (WTLA).
The WTLA would . . .
* restore the Constitution’s separation of powers
* require Congress to approve every regulation before it became binding on citizens
* free executive branch agencies to focus on job of enforcement
* prevent unelected bureaucrats from making up laws without our consent, because . . .
. . . making the laws is the job YOU were ELECTED to do.
Sincerely,
John Q. Taxpayer
