A Direct and Open Letter to the Members of the Missouri House, Rules and Legislative Oversight Committee:

Paul Venable – Chairman
The Constitution Party of Missouri
214 E. Main St., #111
Lincoln, Missouri 65355
paulvenable@constitution>partymo.org
816.379.6499

A Direct and Open Letter to the Members of the Missouri House,
Rules and Legislative Oversight Committee:

My name is Paul Venable, I am Chairman of the Constitution Party of Missouri and I am writing regarding HB1165.  I feel it an urgent matter to alert you and our fellow Missouri Citizens that this legislation is dangerous to the Liberty of a Free People.   As a result of the, Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets signed by Joe Biden on March 9, 2022, the groundwork is being laid for the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).  It appears, that the follow up is to implement its passage through state legislatures.

The Uniform Law Commission, on its website, shows a map of twenty states where measures like this are being proposed and on which the progress is being tracked.

What is the CBDC and what will it do?

The effects of a Central Bank Digital Currency will be staggering! The Cato institute has published and easy to understand explanation of the dangers of CBDC, which:

• Could spell doom for what little financial privacy protections remain for the People;
• Can make it easier for governments to freeze your financial resources;
• Could implement programmable spending - the state determines or controls by policy what you can buy;
• Could undermine banking and cryptocurrency as we know it.

…and much more!  In fact, there are no merits upon which this proposed legislation can be debated because it violates a point of order.

If HB1165 has, in any of its language, a proposal to make a digital, virtual, or electronic currency a government endorsed currency; a tender for payment of debts or anything of the kind, or makes the opportunity for such even possible, you must know that such a measure is strictly prohibited.

Is the Constitution of the United States still the Supreme Law of the Land?  See Article VI of said document:

“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

Yes, it is.  This clause has not been repealed.

Does this clause from Article I, Section 10 still apply?

“No State shall… make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”

Yes, it does.  This clause has not been repealed.

On 4 January, 2023, I attended the swearing in of the members of the Missouri House, because I wanted to witness this event for myself.  I am therefore impelled to ask, “By what authority are you supporting a bill that defies the Constitution of the United States of America and in effect, the Missouri Constitution under which the Supreme Law of the Land operates?” 

Dear members of the Committee.  I plead with you not to allow this bill to pass out of committee.  If you cast your vote in support of a proposal which openly defies the United State Constitution, might this not have the effect of exposing you to the consequences of Article III, Section 15 of the Missouri Constitution?

“Section 15. Oath of office of members of assembly—administration—effect of refusal to take oath and conviction of violation.—Every senator or representative elect, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri, and faithfully perform the duties of my office, and that I will not knowingly receive, directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing for the performance or nonperformance of any act or duty pertaining to my office, other than the compensation allowed by law.” The oath shall be administered in the halls of the respective houses to the members thereof, by a judge of the supreme court or a circuit court, or after the organization by the presiding officer of either house, and shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. Any senator or representative refusing to take said oath or affirmation shall be deemed to have vacated his office, and any member convicted of having violated his oath or affirmation shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and be forever disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit in this state.”

The constitutional position is to reject this proposal outright.  I might add that, with dispatch, the Legislature of the State of Missouri also alert its sister states to this danger.

It appears from these provisions that any public servant in Missouri, whether elected or appointed, who takes actions in violation of the oath taken to support the Missouri Constitution and/or the United States Constitution, can be found guilty of perjury and held accountable for such actions.  Please inform me if I am mistaken!

We are truly living in times that rival those which faced our forebears at the dawn of the Republic.  Let us face this challenge head on with the legacy they gave us, the Power of the Constitution of the United States of America!

Salus populi suprema lex esto!

Paul Venable – Chairman
The Constitution Party of Missouri