Necessary Roughness

The Washington Post reports that Congress has passed a bill that contains tens of millions of dollars in import tariff suspensions. The Post article notes:

Under informal congressional guidelines, individual tariff suspensions are supposed to cost no more than $500,000 a year in lost taxes. But a Washington Post investigation, published in September, found that the authors of a number of the provisions managed to quietly file multiple measures aimed at a single product. That strategy can allow individual importers to pocket millions of dollars in tax savings.

The list, H.R. 6406, contains complex chemicals, dyes, and other items. Looks like a boon for shoe importers:

SEC. 1155. CERTAIN LEATHER FOOTWEAR FOR PERSONS OTHER THAN MEN OR WOMEN.
SEC. 1156. CERTAIN OTHER WORK FOOTWEAR.
SEC. 1157. CERTAIN TURN OR TURNED FOOTWEAR.
SEC. 1158. CERTAIN WORK FOOTWEAR WITH OUTER SOLES OF LEATHER.
SEC. 1159. CERTAIN FOOTWEAR WITH OUTER SOLES OF RUBBER OR PLASTICS AND WITH OPEN TOES OR HEELS.
SEC. 1160. CERTAIN ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR.
SEC. 1161. CERTAIN WORK FOOTWEAR.
SEC. 1162. CERTAIN FOOTWEAR.
SEC. 1215. BOOTS.
SEC. 1280. CERTAIN FOOTWEAR VALUED OVER $20 A PAIR WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1281. CERTAIN WOMEN’S FOOTWEAR WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1282. CERTAIN MEN’S FOOTWEAR WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1283. CERTAIN MEN’S FOOTWEAR VALUED OVER $20 A PAIR WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1284. CERTAIN WOMEN’S FOOTWEAR VALUED OVER $20 A PAIR WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1285. CERTAIN OTHER FOOTWEAR VALUED OVER $20 A PAIR WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1286. CERTAIN FOOTWEAR WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1287. CERTAIN OTHER FOOTWEAR COVERING THE ANKLE WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1288. CERTAIN WOMEN’S FOOTWEAR COVERING THE ANKLE WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1289. CERTAIN WOMEN’S FOOTWEAR NOT COVERING THE ANKLE WITH COATED OR LAMINATED TEXTILE FABRICS.
SEC. 1290. FELT-BOTTOM BOOTS FOR USE IN FISHING WADERS.
SEC. 1291. LUG BOTTOM BOOTS FOR USE IN FISHING WADERS.

Section 1155 cracks me up. Are we buying shoes for pets now?

Tell me this doesn’t sound like a repeat:

SEC. 1443. AC ELECTRIC MOTORS OF AN OUTPUT EXCEEDING 74.6 W BUT NOT EXCEEDING 85 W.
SEC. 1444. AC ELECTRIC MOTORS OF AN OUTPUT EXCEEDING 74.6 W BUT NOT EXCEEDING 105 W.
SEC. 1445. AC ELECTRIC MOTORS OF AN OUTPUT EXCEEDING 74.6 W BUT NOT EXCEEDING 95 W.
SEC. 1446. CERTAIN AC ELECTRIC MOTORS.

How many black and white monitors do we need?

SEC. 1259. COLOR FLAT PANEL SCREEN MONITORS.
SEC. 1260. COLOR MONITORS WITH A VIDEO DISPLAY DIAGONAL OF 35.56 CM OR GREATER.
SEC. 1261. COLOR MONITORS.
SEC. 1262. BLACK AND WHITE MONITORS.

Crazy. We definitely need to check the campaign contributions of shoe, motor, and electronics manufacturers.