- Oct 7, 2011
- 38,401
- 4,162
- 1,130
By Bob Barr
One of the most far-reaching and frightening pieces of legislation to come down the pike in quite some time has passed the Senate and is being readied for quick action by the Republican-controlled House. Lurking within its many pages, divisions, titles, parts and subparts is a host of restrictions and federal mandates that would make George Orwells head spin.
The misnamed Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, commonly referred to inside the Washington Beltway as MAP-21, is so laden with federal highway and transportation funds that most House members probably will be inclined to vote for it without even reading the fine print. But it is that fine print that feeds steroids to the Washington Leviathan like few past pieces of legislation.
MAP-21 clearly bears the fingerprints of our nanny-in-chief, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, but it passed the Senate last month by a strong bipartisan vote, 74 to 22. The massive bill federalizes everything within sight of the feds roving eye. So-called open-container laws would become uniform under federal guidelines, as would heretofore state-enforced laws regulating treatment of repeat DUI offenders. Interlock ignition devices would fall within Uncle Sams grasp. The availability of electronic charging stations to launch all those electronic cars no one is buying would be expanded.
Perhaps most troubling, at least for anyone who harbors even the remotest interest in privacy, MAP-21 mandates that within three years every single passenger vehicle in the country must be outfitted with a vehicle event data recorder the proverbial black box...
Read more: MAP 21 | Is Big Brother's black box coming to your car? | The Daily Caller
One of the most far-reaching and frightening pieces of legislation to come down the pike in quite some time has passed the Senate and is being readied for quick action by the Republican-controlled House. Lurking within its many pages, divisions, titles, parts and subparts is a host of restrictions and federal mandates that would make George Orwells head spin.
The misnamed Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, commonly referred to inside the Washington Beltway as MAP-21, is so laden with federal highway and transportation funds that most House members probably will be inclined to vote for it without even reading the fine print. But it is that fine print that feeds steroids to the Washington Leviathan like few past pieces of legislation.
MAP-21 clearly bears the fingerprints of our nanny-in-chief, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, but it passed the Senate last month by a strong bipartisan vote, 74 to 22. The massive bill federalizes everything within sight of the feds roving eye. So-called open-container laws would become uniform under federal guidelines, as would heretofore state-enforced laws regulating treatment of repeat DUI offenders. Interlock ignition devices would fall within Uncle Sams grasp. The availability of electronic charging stations to launch all those electronic cars no one is buying would be expanded.
Perhaps most troubling, at least for anyone who harbors even the remotest interest in privacy, MAP-21 mandates that within three years every single passenger vehicle in the country must be outfitted with a vehicle event data recorder the proverbial black box...
Read more: MAP 21 | Is Big Brother's black box coming to your car? | The Daily Caller
