McConnell to introduce HEMP amendment to farm bill - calls to senators needed urgently!

[jct74]

this was posted over at Daily Paul (http://www.dailypaul.com/285836/industrial-hemp-phone-calls-needed-in-48-states), if you won't able to call Monday morning then leave a message this weekend telling your senator to support, calls are most critical in Michigan and Vermont!


Industrial Hemp Phone Calls Needed in 48 States!

Submitted by kentuckykate on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 16:59

Hey Daily Paulers!

On Monday May 20th, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is planning to introduce a hemp amendment to the 2013 Farm Bill. Because both of our Kentucky Senators have already pledged to support this issue, I'm reaching out and asking for your help around the nation!

Will you call your Senators and ask them to support and vote for a hemp amendment to the Farm Bill of 2013? This amendment should be attempted on Monday, so phone calls should be made today, this weekend, or early Monday morning.

Even leaving messages for your Senators is great, so don't worry if you don't get through right away.

This may indeed be one of those "strange bedfellows" situations, but Industrial Hemp is an issue that rises above political divides. And it may be one of the best methods to save our economy and begin the healing process of our country and our environment.

There are no silver bullets. But this is an opportunity that has presented itself to us, and we should take action while we have time!

Please go to VoteHemp.com/farmbill (http://votehemp.com/farmbill) and use the link to find your Senators, their numbers, and talking points about the amendment.

Then please share this information with everyone you know! You can copy/paste or feel free to share my post on Kentuckyhempcoaltion.com (http://www.kentuckyhempcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/05/phone-calls-needed-in-48-states.html)


also more from Take Back Kentucky (http://www.takebackkentucky.net/2013/05/17/important-updated-federal-legislative-hemp-alert-call-us-senate-friday-and-monday/)


Important Updated Federal Legislative Hemp Alert: Call US Senate Friday and Monday!
Published on 17 May 2013 by Bill in Legislation

Below is a message from Katie Moyer

I’m forwarding this message to you today to ask for help! It will only take a minute or two of your time, but one phone call may be all it takes to push some Senators off of the fence when it comes to industrial hemp.

Right now, it’s looking like our best chance to get a hemp bill passed is to ask our Senators to support Senator Mitch McConnell’s hemp amendment to the 2013 Farm Bill.
Some may say…”hey wait, MCCONNELL has a hemp amendment???”
It’s true, he does. Or rather, he will. Senator Mitch McConnell is expected to bring up an amendment to the 2013 Farm Bill on Monday that would allow American farmers to grow Industrial Hemp.
Now here’s the thing. We need phone calls to our Senators….but not in Kentucky. We already know that our Senators (and many of our Reps) are on board with hemp. And because this battle is in the Senate, we now need phone calls from other parts of the country. We need to share our knowledge, and start spreading the word to people in every state we can.
The two most critical states right now are Vermont and Michigan. If anyone knows people in those states, please pass on this information to them so that they can call their Senators and ask them to support the Hemp Amendment to the 2013 Farm Bill.
We only have today and possibly Monday to make these phone calls! Remember this! Phone calls are the fastest way to get your message to your Senator. Even if you get an answering machine, leave a message and that will be faster than sending an email to your Senator.
Here is a message I received a few moments ago from Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. He is asking for our help in reaching out to Liberty minded people, groups, and organizations around the country. Please post this to every forum, Meetup Group, or mailing list you can find! Also attached to the bottom of this email is a Vote Hemp Action Alert, which will allow you to quickly find and contact your Senator.
Happy Hemping!
Katie

(from Eric at Vote Hemp:)
Yesterday I had a good meeting with senior staff for Sen. McConnell. He attempted
to add our hemp bill as an amendment to the Farm Bill in the Ag. Committee on Wednesday
but was blocked by Sen. Leahy on the grounds that his committee (Judiciary) has
jurisdiction. We don’t think Sen. Leahy is opposed but his opposition on procedure
is blocking an historic opportunity for hemp legislation at the federal level as the
Farm Bill only comes up every 5 years.
The Farm Bill has moved out of Committee and the Senate will be voting on it next
week. Sen. McConnell plans to introduce his amendment on the floor next week.
Sen. McConnell’s staff urged me to pull out all the stops to get calls in to Senators
today and Monday in order to give us a good chance of passage. We urgently
need your support today. We are asking everyone to direct their supporters
(EXCEPT IN KY where we already have both Senators supporting) to go to our
Action Alert and have them call their Senators and leave a message of support
for the hemp amendment to the Farm Bill.
http://www.votehemp.com/farmbill
We need e-mails, Facebook posts, tweets and whatever you can do to get the word
out and its urgent that we do this today. This is our best chance to get hemp farming
allowed at the federal level so please act now. Please let me know what you are
able to do as we are tracking all our efforts.
Thanks!


contact information from previous thread:



contact info for the Senate
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm


or go to http://votehemp.com/farmbill

[tsai3904]

calls are most critical in Michigan and Vermont!

Michigan and Vermont are critical because Stabenow (MI) is managing the farm bill and Leahy (VT) is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction of legalizing hemp. He needs to waive his committee's jurisdiction to allow the hemp amendment be added to the farm bill.


Rep. Thomas Massie, R-4th District, who has been pushing for a hemp provision on the House side, has run up against the House Judiciary Committee. That’s because legalizing hemp would affect drug laws and that panel wants a say in any changes.

“In order for anyone to get this as an amendment into the farm bill, the judiciary committee would have to waive its jurisdiction,” Massie spokesman Gary Howard said.

[NationalAnarchist]

Emailed my senators. Only got a cell so hate running minutes up...

[Aratus]

Mitch McConnell's hemp bill is actually a well thought out piece of legislation

[Warlord]

When it comes down to it Leahy is an authoritarian. I might be wrong but strongly suspect he wont give this up.

[Warlord]

Calls from VT might change his mind but no one there is going to care about this and he knows it so will take great pleasure in killing it or insisting it goes through some lengthy committee process.

[jct74]

bump!

[Bastiat's The Law]

Let freedom ring people!

[Spoa]

Bump.

[Warlord]

I told you, Leahy won't give this up:

Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul Push For Hemp Legalization In Senate Fight
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/mitch-mcconnell-rand-paul-hemp_n_3294613.html

'McConnell approached Leahy to ask for the waiver, but was rejected, sources said. McConnell returned to Stabenow and again asked that she insert the provision, and Stabenow said no. She offered, instead, to allow a vote on an amendment, and said that she would introduce it on his behalf. (Minority leaders rarely appear at committee hearings in person.) McConnell declined the offer and by proxy voted against the farm bill in committee. Holly Harris, chief of staff to Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, a strong hemp advocate, said that her office had been told by Senate Republican leadership that Leahy had refused the waiver request, citing Judiciary Committee turf, confirming what several Senate sources told HuffPost.'


Although he may let them do something on the floor.

Comer is working contacts in VT. If Leahy hears from people in VT he will act. If he thinks he can kill something and get away with it then he will happily do it.

If there's a vote on the amendment to the bill next week I strongly suspect it will pass easily considering the OR senators are on board but this will depend on Leahy not objecting.

[Warlord]

Let freedom ring people!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp3pHBYWq7w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp3pHBYWq7w

"You're a great American! Thank you, you're a great American too!"

[Brett85]

Is there any update on this? Is this going to be voted on today?

[Warlord]

Next week they will try and get it on to the farm bill on the floor as long as Leahy (or any other senator) does not object

[Brett85]

What happens if a Senator objects?

[Warlord]

What happens if a Senator objects?

Reid controls the floor and the amendment process so if Leahy objects he will tell Reid to toss the amendment

[Brett85]

Hmmm, ok. I thought they actually had to vote to table an amendment. I'm not sure how all the rules work.

[tsai3904]

This was reported by Vote Hemp today:


The hemp amendment to the Farm Bill was run down to the Senate cloakroom (introduced) this evening. We will know more in the morning.

https://www.facebook.com/votehemp/posts/10151614082784920