HR 5034 update

I wrote recently about HR5034, a bill being discussed in Congress that would allow states to prohibit the shipping of alcohol outside of the distributors. This is a bill that could be devastating for many small wineries (as well as being terrible for consumers). It would mean that you could purchase things like guns, knives, cigarettes, prescription drugs and pornography from out of state, but not wine.

Around 100 Representatives have signed up to support the bill. The current list includes: Bobby Bright [D-AL2] Harry Mitchell [D-AZ5] Edward Pastor [D-AZ4] Bob Filner [D-CA51] Gary Miller [R-CA42] Laura Richardson [D-CA37] Vern Buchanan [R-FL13] Ted Deutch [D-FL19] Lincoln Diaz-Balart [R-FL21] Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL25] Alcee Hastings [D-FL23] Connie Mack [R-FL14] John Mica [R-FL7] Bill Posey [R-FL15] Adam Putnam [R-FL12] Thomas Rooney [R-FL16] Clifford Stearns [R-FL6] Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL20] John Barrow [D-GA12] Paul Broun [R-GA10] David Scott [D-GA13] Lynn Westmoreland [R-GA3] Bruce Braley [D-IA1] Michael Simpson [R-ID2] Danny Davis [D-IL7] Bill Foster [D-IL14] Phil Hare [D-IL17] Jesse Jackson [D-IL2] Mike Quigley [D-IL5] Bobby Rush [D-IL1] Aaron Schock [R-IL18] André Carson [D-IN7] Joe Donnelly [D-IN2] Brad Ellsworth [D-IN8] Peter Visclosky [D-IN1] Michael Capuano [D-MA8] Frank Kratovil [D-MD1] John Dingell [D-MI15] Dale Kildee [D-MI5] Thaddeus McCotter [R-MI11] Gary Peters [D-MI9] Mark Schauer [D-MI7] Timothy Walz [D-MN1] Travis Childers [D-MS1] Gene Taylor [D-MS4] Bennie Thompson [D-MS2] Dennis Rehberg [R-MT] Howard Coble [R-NC6] Walter Jones [R-NC3] Patrick McHenry [R-NC10] Heath Shuler [D-NC11] Earl Pomeroy [D-ND] Paul Hodes [D-NH2] Robert Andrews Rush Holt [D-NJ12] Frank LoBiondo [R-NJ2] Frank Pallone [D-NJ6] William Pascrell [D-NJ8] Harry Teague [D-NM2] Shelley Berkley [D-NV1] Timothy Bishop [D-NY1] Michael McMahon [D-NY13] Edolphus Towns [D-NY10] Steve Driehaus [D-OH1] Timothy Ryan [D-OH17] Zachary Space [D-OH18] Betty Sutton [D-OH13] Charles Wilson [D-OH6] Robert Brady [D-PA1] Christopher Carney [D-PA10] Chaka Fattah [D-PA2] Patrick Murphy [D-PA8] Tim Murphy [R-PA18] William Shuster [R-PA9] Glenn Thompson [R-PA5] Henry Brown [R-SC1] Addison Wilson [R-SC2] Stephanie Herseth Sandlin [D-SD] Lincoln Davis [D-TN4] Henry Cuellar [D-TX28] Charles Gonzalez [D-TX20] Raymond Green [D-TX29] Rubén Hinojosa [D-TX15] Eddie Johnson [D-TX30] Randy Neugebauer [R-TX19] Solomon Ortiz [D-TX27] Ted Poe [R-TX2] Silvestre Reyes [D-TX16] Ciro Rodriguez [D-TX23] Lamar Smith [R-TX21] William Thornberry [R-TX13] Jason Chaffetz [R-UT3] Gerald Connolly [D-VA11] Glenn Nye [D-VA2] Ronald Kind [D-WI3] Shelley Capito [R-WV2] Alan Mollohan [D-WV1] Cynthia Lummis [R-WY]

You can view them on a Google Map at http://tinyurl.com/StopHR5034

The good news is that despite all this support there is wide opposition in Congress, including from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (who herself owns a vineyard and understands very well the implications of this bill); additionally there is so far no support for it in the Senate, so overall it would appear unlikely to succeed.

However if you haven't already written to your Representative then please do so. HR5034 is bad for wineries, customers and business generally; it's only good for the wholesalers who want to protect their monopoly.

Keep up to date on the campaign at http://www.stophr5034.org/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/STOPHR5034

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