U.S. Rep. Ron Paul | submersible |
submersible
Submersible Vehicles
24 April 2008 2008 Ron Paul 26:1
Mr. PAUL. Madam Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment because it strikes me as unconstitutional to make it a Federal crime to operate a submersible or semi-submersible vehicle that is not registered with a country if it navigates through international waters. I believe that this amendment, aside from being unconstitutional, is dangerously broad and may well lead to the persecution of individuals who are in no way engaging in illegal activity. I am concerned that this may lead to the prosecution of, for example, a scientific organization that builds and operates a submersible research vessel and operates it in international waters. Are these organizations going to be forced to register their activities with the U.S. Government or face a 20 year jail term? The real intent of this amendment is to add yet another draconian weapon in the arsenal of the government’s failed war on drugs. This amendment may well have chilling unintended consequences for individuals and organizations that have nothing to do with drug or human smuggling and as such I cannot support the Poe amendment.
Texas Straight Talk from 20 December 1996 to 23 June 2008 (573 editions) are included in this Concordance. Texas Straight Talk after 23 June 2008 is in blog form on Rep. Paul’s Congressional website and is not included in this Concordance.
Remember, not everything in the concordance is Ron Paul’s words. Some things he quoted, and he added some newspaper and magazine articles to the Congressional Record. Check the original speech to see.