CEI looking for Co-signers to Letter on Wine Shipping
There is a bill on Capitol Hill (H.R. 5034) that could lead some states to ban direct shipping of wine and introduce a host of other regulations on wine and spirits. CEI is organizing a letter from nonprofits, consumer groups, wine and beer clubs, and similar groups pointing out the anti-consumer impacts of this bill. The other side has 125 sponsors on this crazy bill and momentum is growing. They are holding hearings July 14 and I hope to have a letter to send out early that week before hearings take place.
You can find background information on these sites:
http://winepolicy.com/2010/04/congressional-bill-threatens-direct-s...
http://www.stophr5034.org/
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42823
If you represent an organziation that wants to sign on, contact alogomasini@cei.org. Below is the text and some of the current signers.
July 2010
Dear Member of Congress:
As consumer advocates, we would like to express our views on H.R. 5034, the so called Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness (CARE) Act. This legislation is an affront to consumer freedom and runs counter to basic constitutional principles.
The U.S. Constitution advances mutually beneficial trade between the states. To that end, the Commerce Clause grants the U.S. Congress the sole power to regulate interstate trade and bars states from passing laws and regulations that impede such trade (a concept defined as the “Dormant Commerce Clause”).
In Granholm v. Heald (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot pass laws that discriminate between in-state and out-of-state wineries unless the state could prove that it lacked other means of meeting policy objectives unrelated to protectionism, i.e., public health and safety.
Since that ruling, states have begun to liberalize their liquor laws, particularly direct shipping of wine. Problems have been few; adults present proof of legal age and sign to receive shipments. These changes have expanded options for consumers in open states, and pressure is mounting to expand consumer freedom in the other states.
Yet H.R. 5034 could impede these positive trends. It would allow states to reverse course and pass protectionist laws for just about any alleged reason at all. And it makes it nearly impossible for anyone to challenge those laws in court.
This bill would harm consumers while really serving one special interest: wholesalers who support protectionist laws to protect their role as middlemen.
H.R. 5034 undercuts basic constitutional principles to serve a single special interest. Should lawmakers proceed with this legislation, consumers, small businesses, and our constitutional system will suffer.
Sincerely,
Jon Boyles, National organization for Marriage, Princeton, NJ
John Charles, Cascade Policy Institute, Portland, Oregon
Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Sacramento, CA
Kim Crockett, President and General Counsel, Minnesota Free Market Institute, St. Paul, MN
Chuck Cushman with American Land Rights
Don Fife with the League of Private Property Voters
Paul Gessing, President, Rio Grande Foundation, Albuquerque, NM
Susan Gore, Wyoming Liberty Group, Cheyenne WY
Jennifer Hulsey, American Grassroots Coalition, Marietta, GA
David Keene, American Conservative Union, Washington D.C.
Matt Kibbe, President, FreedomWorks, Washington, D.C.
Barrett E. Kidner, Caesar Rodney Institute, Dover, Delaware
Amy Kremer, Tea Party Express, Washington, D.C.
George Landrith, Frontiers of Freedom,
Andrew Langer, Institute for Liberty, Washington, D.C.
Mario Lopez, Hispanic Leadership Fund, Alexandria, VA
Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Jeffrey Mazzella, Center for Individual Freedom, Alexandria, VA
Lisa Miller, Tea Party WDC, Washington, D.C.
C. Preston Noell , American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, Hanover PA
Grover Norquist, American for Tax Reform, Washington D.C.
Justin Owen, Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Nashville, TN
Dick Patten, American Family Business Institute, Washington, D.C.
Thomas A. Schatz, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Washington D.C.
Fred Smith, President, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C.
Laurence Socci, The C.L.A. Group, Alexandria, VA
Jack Sommer, Chairman and President, Political Economy Research Institute, Raleigh, North Carolina
Derek Swanson, The Weekly Wine Pick, Washington, D.C.
John Tillman, CEO, Illinois Policy Institute
John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute
You can find background information on these sites:
http://winepolicy.com/2010/04/congressional-bill-threatens-direct-s...
http://www.stophr5034.org/
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42823
If you represent an organziation that wants to sign on, contact alogomasini@cei.org. Below is the text and some of the current signers.
July 2010
Dear Member of Congress:
As consumer advocates, we would like to express our views on H.R. 5034, the so called Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness (CARE) Act. This legislation is an affront to consumer freedom and runs counter to basic constitutional principles.
The U.S. Constitution advances mutually beneficial trade between the states. To that end, the Commerce Clause grants the U.S. Congress the sole power to regulate interstate trade and bars states from passing laws and regulations that impede such trade (a concept defined as the “Dormant Commerce Clause”).
In Granholm v. Heald (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot pass laws that discriminate between in-state and out-of-state wineries unless the state could prove that it lacked other means of meeting policy objectives unrelated to protectionism, i.e., public health and safety.
Since that ruling, states have begun to liberalize their liquor laws, particularly direct shipping of wine. Problems have been few; adults present proof of legal age and sign to receive shipments. These changes have expanded options for consumers in open states, and pressure is mounting to expand consumer freedom in the other states.
Yet H.R. 5034 could impede these positive trends. It would allow states to reverse course and pass protectionist laws for just about any alleged reason at all. And it makes it nearly impossible for anyone to challenge those laws in court.
This bill would harm consumers while really serving one special interest: wholesalers who support protectionist laws to protect their role as middlemen.
H.R. 5034 undercuts basic constitutional principles to serve a single special interest. Should lawmakers proceed with this legislation, consumers, small businesses, and our constitutional system will suffer.
Sincerely,
Jon Boyles, National organization for Marriage, Princeton, NJ
John Charles, Cascade Policy Institute, Portland, Oregon
Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Sacramento, CA
Kim Crockett, President and General Counsel, Minnesota Free Market Institute, St. Paul, MN
Chuck Cushman with American Land Rights
Don Fife with the League of Private Property Voters
Paul Gessing, President, Rio Grande Foundation, Albuquerque, NM
Susan Gore, Wyoming Liberty Group, Cheyenne WY
Jennifer Hulsey, American Grassroots Coalition, Marietta, GA
David Keene, American Conservative Union, Washington D.C.
Matt Kibbe, President, FreedomWorks, Washington, D.C.
Barrett E. Kidner, Caesar Rodney Institute, Dover, Delaware
Amy Kremer, Tea Party Express, Washington, D.C.
George Landrith, Frontiers of Freedom,
Andrew Langer, Institute for Liberty, Washington, D.C.
Mario Lopez, Hispanic Leadership Fund, Alexandria, VA
Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Jeffrey Mazzella, Center for Individual Freedom, Alexandria, VA
Lisa Miller, Tea Party WDC, Washington, D.C.
C. Preston Noell , American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, Hanover PA
Grover Norquist, American for Tax Reform, Washington D.C.
Justin Owen, Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Nashville, TN
Dick Patten, American Family Business Institute, Washington, D.C.
Thomas A. Schatz, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Washington D.C.
Fred Smith, President, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C.
Laurence Socci, The C.L.A. Group, Alexandria, VA
Jack Sommer, Chairman and President, Political Economy Research Institute, Raleigh, North Carolina
Derek Swanson, The Weekly Wine Pick, Washington, D.C.
John Tillman, CEO, Illinois Policy Institute
John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute
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