Round 2, Part 1

Well, the Senate passed a bill. Why, though, did anyone think this was a necessary part of a bill designed to deal with financial chaos?

SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 4161(b) is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub301 paragraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:

‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROW SHAFTS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means of enhancing the spine of such shaft (whether sold separately or incorporated as part of a finished or unfinished product) of a type used in the manufacture of any arrow which after its assembly—

‘‘(i) measures 5⁄16 of an inch or less in diameter, and
‘‘(ii) is not suitable for use with a bow described in paragraph (1)(A).’’.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to shafts first sold after the date of enactment of this Act.

(Found at Calculated Risk. Thos guys have been doing an amazing job covering and analyzng the mortgage market and financial situation.)

UPDATE: Calculated Risk explains:

My understanding is the bailout bill was attached to another bill for procedural reasons, and that that other bill had all the weird provisions (Senators weren't trying to add them to the bailout bill specifically). Oh well ... now you know.

William Polley says, no, it's a Christmas tree:


That's not how I read what shows up on THOMAS when you look up the bill.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR01424:@@@L&summ2=m&
That link should give you the summary of the bill as it was passed in the House (H.R. 1424). A spending bill has to originate in the House, so they had to take a bill that had passed the House and been reported to the Senate. This bill had been read twice and placed on the legislative calendar under General Orders, which meant it was eligible for floor consideration. If you look at the version that passed the House and the version that passed the Senate, you will see that they are completely different. The intersection of the two is the empty set.
Nothing is by accident.

So, back to the original question...WTF???