Proposed Dem. 'TRACE' Act Labeled with Number Causing People To Look Twice
CORRECTION, May 15, 2020: This commentary has been edited to remove a sentence that read “Those who test positive would also be confined to their homes or treated in one of the ‘mobile units’ the bill would fund.” That sentence was apparently based on a statement made by Cheryl Chumley in an analysis/opinion piece in The Washington Times, and was, in context, obviously her interpretation of the wording of the proposed legislation, not a conclusion demanded by that wording. We also made several small edits throughout the commentary for clarity. We also changed the headline of the commentary on our website to better reflect its content.
If the possibility of granting massive surveillance powers to the government isn’t frightening enough, the proposed COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone Act also comes with what some would consider an ominous number: H.R. 6666.
Though there is no actual theological connection, the number is similar to one from biblical prophecy: “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666,” the Bible says in Revelation 13:18.
Christians interpret the number from the apocalyptic Scripture as a symbol for the devil or the Antichrist, who will usher in the end times.
With the world facing a global pandemic, giant Asian murder hornets, plagues of locusts, massive fires in Australia and so on, the faithful are understandably already vigilant.
More important than the bill’s number, however, is the language of the bill itself: The U.S. House of Representatives proposed TRACE Act would allot $100 billion to “conduct diagnostic testing for COVID–19, to trace and monitor the contacts of infected individuals, and to support the quarantine of such.”
There aren’t many specifics as to how the government would accurately “trace and monitor” American citizens but, as the saying goes, “the devil is in the details,” which are notably absent.
Considering that Rep. Bobby Rush’s bill would provide funds to “hire, train, compensate, and pay the expenses” of entities charged with the aforementioned activities, the pieces come together into a “1984” existence where government representatives could end up monitoring some private citizens’ every move.
In fact, the Illinois Democrat said in a statement on his own website that the TRACE Act includes resources for “door-to-door outreach.”
There is also a provision which states that individuals conducting testing should be hired from the community, meaning neighbors potentially would monitor neighbors in “hot spots” and “medically underserved communities.”
Furthermore, for those who test positive, the newly minted government employees would apparently have the authority to trace anyone who came in contact with the individuals, exponentially expanding the number of people under some form of government surveillance at any given time.
These facts amount to widespread government monitoring of private citizens without due process. It’s not a wild conspiracy theory, just a simple description of what the TRACE Act seeks to implement.
This is problematic for many, as providing already out of control governments with an excuse and the means to track private citizens makes folks rightfully wary.
“Three weeks ago, I told you the virus pandemic would be used to track people in America,” Emerald Robinson at Newsmax tweeted.
“And here we are: H.R.6666 COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone (TRACE) Act.”
Three weeks ago, I told you the virus pandemic would be used to track people in America.
And here we are: H.R.6666 COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone (TRACE) Act https://t.co/QpGyC5vxDL
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) May 10, 2020
“Democrats just released HR 6666, also known as ‘The Trace Act.’ The bill would provide $100 BILLION to institute contact tracing protocols throughout the country,” Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA shared.
“This is the future Democrats want,” he added. “This is a totalitarian power grab from the left. They must be stopped!”
Democrats just released HR 6666, also known as “The Trace Act”
The bill would provide $100 BILLION to institute contact tracing protocols throughout the country
This is the future Democrats want
This is a totalitarian power grab from the left
They must be stopped!
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 10, 2020
“So, seriously, the Democrats named their 666 Mark of the Beast Book of Revelations tracer bill H.R. 6666 ?” another Twitter user wrote. “When I first read this I laughed, thinking it was a sick joke.”
“No. I was wrong. They’re serious.”
So, seriously, the Democrats named their 666 Mark of the Beast Book of Revelations tracer bill H.R. 6666 ?
When I first read this I laughed, thinking it was a sick joke
No. I was wrong. They’re serious— Donald Russo (@donaldrusso994) May 10, 2020
The second half of the bill does give assurances that the TRACE Act does not “supersede any Federal privacy or confidentiality requirement,” but judging from the way that politicians have violated citizens’ First Amendment rights to assemble and practice their religion in the name of preventing coronavirus infections, those words ring hollow.
While the designation of H.R. 6666 is purely coincidental, it is curious how a bill that is very short on words is simultaneously broad enough to usher in massive government surveillance.
Some might even say it’s diabolical.
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