FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for October 2020 is the National Patient Identifier Repeal Act, S. 2538, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The National Patient Identifier Repeal Act seeks to repeal a dangerous section of the law that could require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a national patient ID system. Such a system would present an unprecedented threat to patient security and privacy across the country.

A major piece of guidance issued recently by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is already making waves in financial circles. This directive allows banks and federal savings associations to hold deposits as reserves for stablecoins that are backed one-to-one by a fiat currency. Although this order is very limited in scope, it represents a pivotal move towards an innovative regulatory framework and signals the future inclusion of commodity-backed stablecoins.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for September 2020 is the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA),H.R. 7895 and S. 909, introduced by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) in the House and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) in the Senate. SOPRA seeks to restore the proper separation of powers by eliminating judicial deference to bureaucratic agencies’ interpretation of laws.

In a strange turn of events, patent filings recently made public show that the United States Postal Service (USPS) is attempting to monopolize the use of blockchain technology in voting. Not only is it disheartening to see a federal entity attempting to run what amounts to a tech startup, but the patent itself is dangerously vague with the potential to threaten innovation in an emerging market. Intellectual property protections should never be used to prop up dying federal agencies or to establish new government monopolies.

As states brace themselves for the revenue nightmare that COVID-19 will bring, the California Assembly is set to consider legislation that could irreparably damage their economic future. Rep. Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) recently proposed Assembly Bill 2088 that would be the first wealth tax in the nation, imposing a 0.4 percent tax on net worth for individuals and joint filers worth over $30 million. As if that wasn’t bad enough, AB 2088 would completely soak the rich by raising the top income tax rate from the already astronomical 13.3 percent to an even more ludicrous 16.8 percent.

FreedomWorks Foundation's Regulatory Action Center (RAC) submitted formal comments to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in support of their recent proposal to deregulate natural gas pipelines. It is promising to ease the regulatory burden on the construction, maintenance and operation of natural gas pipelines, with a special focus on small operations. The text of these formal comments can be found excerpted below or in the attached document:

FreedomWorks recently announced the launch of the American Freedom Initiative (AFI), a collaboration headed by former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker. This project aims to help relieve injustices committed against Americans under the criminal justice system and the regulatory state. As part of this project, we will shine a spotlight on some of the individuals the AFI has identified under its National Pardon Project as being particularly hard hit by unjustly harsh criminal sentences for non-violent crimes.

Following a decade of nearly unprecedented expansion in energy production, news agencies in mid-2019 cheered the approach of long awaited “energy independence.” Yet, by the end of the year, pundits were arguing that the “myth of U.S. energy independence” had evaporated. What happened? In short, both were correct. Although America is approaching total energy independence, we are still far from achieving this goal.

FreedomWorks is proud to honor Rep. Ted Yoho as our member of the month for July 2020. Representing Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, encompassing much of the area surrounding Gainesville, Rep. Yoho is a principled advocate for Floridians. Though he will not be seeking reelection in 2020, the work he has done in his past eight years is certainly worthy of commendation.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for July 2020 is the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act, H.R. 2859 and S. 1620, introduced in the House by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and in the Senate by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Angus King (I-Maine). This bipartisan legislation would loosen restrictions so that meat processed in a state-licensed facility can be sold locally -- without regulation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) -- in an effort to help address issues with our meat supply chain that have become glaringly obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic.