The bill had seven co-sponsors, including John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL). Reported by committee on last March 31, S 384 was placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders on May 13, 2009.

The Global Food Security Act of 2009 states (Sec 101): "It is the policy of the United States to promote global food security, to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, to alleviate poverty, to improve agricultural productivity and rural development, to support the development of institutions of higher learning that will enhance human capacity, entrepreneurial skills and job creation, agricultural research and technology, and the dissemination of farming techniques to all parts of the agriculture sector, and to support sustainable farming methods."

This bill reflects a whole-of-government approach that incorporates and encompasses the programs of relevant federal departments and agencies, including the Department of State, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Department of the Treasury, the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Department of Health and Human Services. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) would be the lead agency in implementing the strategy to advise the president on international food security issues and oversee implementation of a comprehensive food security strategy.

[Note: The MCC was chartered in 2004 as a U.S. government corporation to provide "development assistance" to "emerging countries." USAID is also a U.S. government corporation formed by executive order in 1961 and is the entity through which most U.S. foreign aid flows. USAID promotes trade and economic development in emerging nations and also works with the State Department to promote foreign policy and provide disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. Economic development is a euphemism for securing the assets of third world nations as collateral for loans they will not be able to repay. With regard to disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, USAID has distributed millions of pounds of food, water and medicines to people in need. The benevolence of this assistance is questionable as the food is reportedly packaged, processed, denatured filler devoid of nutrients and now comprised of GM ingredients; the water is bottled and contaminated with a variety of chemicals and preservatives; the "medicines" are primarily vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs administered to address the symptoms caused by poverty, stress and toxic exposures to the adulterated food and contaminated water provided by USAID].

S384 amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize funding for research on biotechnological advances appropriate to local ecological conditions through institutions of higher learning, including genetic modification (GM) technology and to provide funds for agriculture and hunger-alleviation programs, rural development and nutrition.

It provides appropriate linkages with United States international health programs, such as the President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief and it authorizes the president to provide assistance under it or the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for unexpected urgent food assistance needs, establishing a United States Emergency Food Assistance Fund to carry out such purposes.

The cost of this bill would be $7.75 billion over the next five years.

Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009

HR 1913 was introduced on April 2, 2009 and passed the House 249—175 on April 29, 2009.

Referred to as the "Pedophile Protection Act of 2009" by some because it provides protection for people who sexually molest children, HR 1913 would authorize the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that: (1) constitutes a crime of violence under federal law or a felony under state, local, or Indian tribal law; and (2) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the state, local, or tribal hate crime laws. It directs the Attorney General to give priority for assistance to crimes committed by offenders who have committed crimes in more than one state and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the extraordinary investigation or prosecution expenses. It authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist state, local, and Indian law enforcement agencies with such extraordinary expenses, and directs the Office of Justice Programs to: (1) work closely with funded jurisdictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties are addressed; and (2) award grants to state and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. It amends the federal criminal code to prohibit willfully causing bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of such person. And it amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to expand data collection and reporting requirements under such Act to include: (1) crimes manifesting prejudice based on gender and gender identity; and (2) hate crimes committed by and against juveniles.

The bill was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary on April 30, 2009.

Rev. Ted Pike, the evangelical Christian director of the Oregon-based National Prayer Network wrote on April 22, 2009, "In my opinion, HR 1913 is the most dangerous legislation ever to come before Congress. It surpasses even the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. If passed it will lead us immediately into a hate crimes judicial system and bureaucracy like Canada’s, where pastors, talk show hosts, even private citizens can be indicted as federal hate criminals if they criticize Islam, homosexuality, or illegal immigrants.

"House Judiciary Democrats [refuse] to exclude pedophiles from special protection under the pending federal hate crimes bill, HR 1913….This means if a parent physically defended their child from attempted rape by a pedophile, that pedophile could have the parent arrested for ‘bias-motivated assault’—a federal hate crime!

Federal "hate crime" bills have been in the congressional hopper for several years but could not get past Republican majorities in Congress during the Bush years. Rev. Pike has diligently kept us updated on the status of these bills as they have been changing shape and form. According to Pike, the currently debated version is a doozy. "If HR 1913 becomes law, inclusion of pedophiles under its special rights and protections means a homosexual pedophile has preferential rights to police and legal services over you. They become members of a specially-protected species within their ‘sexual orientation.’ Law enforcement and the judicial system will become especially inclined to come to the homosexual pedophile’s defense and punish those who might threaten him," Rev. Pike warned.

Constitutional scholar and respected patriot Joel Skousen supported Rev. Pike’s commentary and added a few important details. Last January, Skousen noted, "Rev. Ted Pike’s commentary shows how the latest attempt to pass a hate crimes bill will do so through the mask of education and how it will end up giving billions of dollars to selected organizations (the ADL) chosen to indoctrinate American students on non-discrimination against homosexuals."

"The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), architect of hate laws worldwide, has served up two hate bills to Congress this term," Rev. Pike continued. "These include a condensed version of the same one that failed to pass over the past 10 years, HR 262, ‘The David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act.’ [David Ray was the murdered homosexual that has become the poster boy of the homosexual rights community]. Reintroduction of the familiar bill was no surprise, as it had been rejected five times."

Among the many "changes" being ushered in by Obama is a government of executive advisors directing policy with minimal congressional oversight. According to Rev. Pike, the text of HR 262 says that, although the bill, if it becomes law, will have been passed in both houses and signed by the president, it will not be directly administered by a government agency. "The bill says the government will be looking for a private non-profit organization with broad experience in hate crimes education, prevention, and statistics gathering...HR 262 is ADL’s attempt to insert itself into the U.S. government as the nation’s hate law teacher," Rev. Pike explained.

This should come as no surprise since the ADL has already been playing a similar role in law enforcement since passage of its "Hate Crimes Statistics Act in 1980." For nearly 30 years, the ADL has received federal funding and authority to teach hate crimes theory, enforcement and statistics gathering to the U.S. Justice Department, FBI and local law enforcement.

The ADL is the lead "hate crimes" watchdog for Israel and international Jewry as an adjunct of the Jewish religious organization, B’nai B’rith International.

Regarding the timetable of this bill’s pending passage, curiously timed with Obama proclaiming June Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Pride Month, Rev. Pike stated, "On Tuesday, April 28, Sen. Edward Kennedy introduced his Senate version of the federal hate crimes bill, S. 909. As in the House, we may expect the liberal-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee to attempt to fast-forward it without hearings to a vote on the floor of the Senate."

The bill is being hotly contested at this time and Republican Judiciary Committee members are trying to pretend opposition but appear to be covertly aiding the passage of this bill by subterfuge and stealth. Neither Republicans or Democrats have demanded that pedophile protection be removed from the bill.

In the May 4, 2009 article, "Next on Senate agenda? ‘Pedophile Protection Act" Bob Unruh of WorldNetDaily wrote, "Families across the nation need to contact their U.S. senators now to try to derail a legislative plan that already has passed the U.S. House and is being awaited by President Obama—after a Democrat confirmed it would protect ‘all 547 forms of sexual deviancy or paraphilias’ listed by the American Psychiatric Association. The proposal, also called the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act after a Wyoming homosexual who was killed in a horrific robbery and beating in 1998, creates a special class for homosexuals and others with alternative sexual lifestyles and provides them protections against so-called ‘hate.’ It specifically denies such protections to other targeted classes of citizens such as pastors, Christians, missionaries, veterans and the elderly."

American Clean Energy and Security Act

Congress has established a legislative axiom: If a bill is long and complicated then its intent is to accomplish the opposite of its titled purpose. Rep. Waxman’s "Clean Energy and Security Act" is a perfect example of this axiom in practice.

Just as the right wing urged the passage of the Patriot Act which took away the freedoms "those Muslims hated us for," now the left wing urges passage of the Waxman-Markey, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which will also do the opposite of the stated goal of cleaning up the environment, wrote Jay Mock, citizen researcher, on June 16. "The right and left make up the majority, but [are] polarized into never listening to each other. They end up being subjugated by a small group, whose current need is the lucrative cap-and-trade (CAT) laws."  

Homans promises that Waxman’s "climate change bill" won’t make it into law this year. A summary of all of its proposed regulations, which are many, can be found at Thomas.gov and govtrack.us. Let’s hold Homans to his promise and lean heavily on Congress to defeat this bill.

The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

A new food safety bill is on the fast track in Congress—HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009—gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tremendous power while significantly diminishing existing judicial restraints on actions taken by the agency.

The bill would impose a complex and costly regulatory scheme on small farms and local artisanal producers that would negatively impact their operations.

Some of the more alarming provisions in the bill are:

• HR 2749 would impose an annual registration fee of $500 on any "facility" that holds, processes, or manufactures food. Although "farms" are exempt, the agency has defined "farm" narrowly; people making foods such as lacto-fermented vegetables, cheeses, or breads would be required to register and pay the fee, which could drive beginning and small producers out of business during difficult economic times.

• HR 2749 would empower the FDA regulators to come onto private property and dictate how crops will be raised and harvested.

• HR 2749 would give FDA the power to order a quarantine of a geographic area, including "prohibiting or restricting the movement of food or of any vehicle being used or that has been used to transport or hold such food within the geographic area."

• Under the provision above, farmers markets and local food sources could be shut down even if they are not the source of the contamination.

• The FDA has the authority under HR 2749 to halt all movement of all food in a geographic area.

• HR 2749 would empower FDA to make random warrantless searches of the business records of small farmers and local food producers without any evidence whatsoever that there has been a violation. Even farmers selling direct to consumers would have to provide the federal government with records on where they buy supplies, how they raise their crops, and a list of customers.

• HR 2749 charges the Secretary of Health and Human Services with establishing a TRACING SYSTEM for FOOD. Each "person who produces, manufactures, processes, packs, transports, or holds such food" would have to "maintain the full pedigree of the origin and previous distribution history of the food" and "establish and maintain a system for tracing the food that is interoperable with the systems established and maintained by other such persons."

The bill does not explain how far the traceback will extend or how it will be done for multi-ingredient foods.

With all these ambiguities, it’s far from clear how much it will cost either the farmers or the taxpayers.

• HR 2749 creates severe criminal and civil penalties for violations, including prison terms of up to 10 years and/or fines of up to $100,000 for each violation for individuals.

HR 2749 does not address underlying causes of food safety problems such as industrial agriculture practices and the corporate consolidation of our food supply. The industrial food system and food imports are badly in need of effective regulation, but the bill does not specifically direct regulation or resources to these areas.

Note: This bill is yet another shameless attempt by corporate agrigiants and their Capitol Hill puppets to control food supply and quality, thereby controlling people. If the purpose of the bill were to truly promote food safety, the thousands of packaged and processed food and beverage products comprised of chemicals, preservatives and genetically-modified ingredients would be banned. As a result, the FDA would be authorized to promote people who grow their own food without chemicals and support farmers’ markets where local growers provide clean, fresh produce to their neighbors. Pardon us if we are wrong, but weren’t people feeding themselves successfully prior to the advent of Congress and the FDA?