Hearing Protection Act gutted by House Ways and Means, need a push.

I’ve got the banish suppressors too but I just thought they paid someone else to make them.
Yes, At least prior to the backcountry i'm pretty positive mack bros was the OEM for all of their banish lineup. Not sure if that's the case with any newer models like the backcountry.

To me it always seemed the majority of their business was driven by simplifying the NFA process and advertising/sponsoring everything in the shooting media/event world much more so than manufacturing the most desirable product. Not that the products are bad, i just don't think they are the primary selling point.

Edit to add:
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Ok people, Congress is back from their much needed recess 🙄 and now the Reconciliation package is in the Senate. As of now the HPA is in the bill in it's full form. The one hurdle that there is some concern over is the Byrd Rule, which essentially states that only matters concerning taxes and budget can be in a reconciliation package. The concern is that opponents will try to argue that HPA does not adhere to the Byrd Rule. However, diligent research has shown that the enactment of the NFA in 1934 was explicitly put forward as a tax, not a outright ban. In fact the attorney general at the time testified in Congress that it was being put forward as a tax because an outright ban would be unconstitutional. All this to say, we need to keep the pressure on the Senate and the message is clear, the NFA is a matter of taxation and budget, therefore the HPA belongs in this package. Send the messages and melt the phone lines!

Here is a video that does a good job breaking down what I described above.

 
Just left a message with Sen Thune on protecting public lands and restoring this as part of the BBB.

If you haven’t read this was stripped from the BBB yesterday from the Bryd rule.
 
Just left a message with Sen Thune on protecting public lands and restoring this as part of the BBB.

If you haven’t read this was stripped from the BBB yesterday from the Bryd rule.
Baffling a "tax" isnt budget related...
 
Probably fell under the "incidental" rule. Don't bash me too bad, but I think it should just be separated out and go through the normal process.

No - its a tax and was argued as such at the supreme court and in the legislative chambers.
 

No - its a tax and was argued as such at the supreme court and in the legislative chambers.
I don't think that is the argument at all. And not every tax has to go into the budget bill. There is a series of rules that have to be applied by the Parliamentarian. Clearly one of those other rules appeared to be violated in their opinion.

Also, calling and saying "please follow the Parliamentarian on pulling the land sale item but refuse to follow the Parliamentarian on this NFA item" seems like you don't care about rules at all. You just want what you want. I think that is where a lot of Americans are, which is part of the reason we have a dysfunctional Congress.
 
I don't think that is the argument at all. And not every tax has to go into the budget bill. There is a series of rules that have to be applied by the Parliamentarian. Clearly one of those other rules appeared to be violated in their opinion.

Also, calling and saying "please follow the Parliamentarian on pulling the land sale item but refuse to follow the Parliamentarian on this NFA item" seems like you don't care about rules at all. You just want what you want. I think that is where a lot of Americans are, which is part of the reason we have a dysfunctional Congress.
Could be missing something. My understanding of the byrd rule was that it was to pertain to only items of revenue or spending.
 
Could be missing something. My understanding of the byrd rule was that it was to pertain to only items of revenue or spending.
Yes but not all. It is certainly confusing. The item proposed has to be within the purview of the committee that is proposing it. Not sure the source on this one. Also has to be material to the budget - I suspect this one isn’t- and its primary purpose has to be budgetary and not driving some other intent. Those are three that might apply to this item in terms of “squishiness”. I kind of wish the parliamentarian had to publish its reasoning so we could get clarity.
 
Yes but not all. It is certainly confusing. The item proposed has to be within the purview of the committee that is proposing it. Not sure the source on this one. Also has to be material to the budget - I suspect this one isn’t- and its primary purpose has to be budgetary and not driving some other intent. Those are three that might apply to this item in terms of “squishiness”. I kind of wish the parliamentarian had to publish its reasoning so we could get clarity.
145 million last year in revenue - i realize thats "small" on a relative scale but it doesnt seem immaterial. Especially when most of the nfa employees could be terminated.

I get the "intent" but that seems like a squish that could be applied to near anything, ie renewable energy credits.

I agree - i wish that the reasoning was published. Congress is increasingly inept at producing good policy - so this looks to be the death to hoping things change.
 
It’s sad our government is so dysfunctional they cannot achieve something like this via legitimate legislative process.
Agree with that.

I truly wish each item could be pushed through as an individual bill.

Vote yes or no, move on. Rather than sneaking stuff into a huge bill, and fighting about it for weeks at a time.
 
I get the "intent" but that seems like a squish that could be applied to near anything, ie renewable energy credits.

I agree - i wish that the reasoning was published. Congress is increasingly inept at producing good policy - so this looks to be the death to hoping things change.
Very squish. I view it simply as the Parliamentarian's job is to call bullshit on non-budget items that violate the Byrd rule so it could only need 51%. There was so much crammed into this thing the outcome for a lot of it was obvious. As someone pointed out, there is a reason the Senate approval is a 60% threshold. It was to put a check on power and encourage compromise. I would rather see more things move through the normal process.

She killed the medicaid cuts so this whole budget is on life-support. Those spending cuts were central to not blowing a whole in the fiscal situation. Calls for her to be fired/replaced will increase. Another example of an abuse of power. Someone can't get what they want so try to blow up the whole thing.
 

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