RESTRICTING OUR ACCESS TO RECORDS. The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a bill, House Resolution 10 (H.R. 10), which seeks to restrict access to birth certificates. David Rencher, chairman of the Record Access and Preservation Committee, a joint committee of the Hello, fellow genealogists of Rutherford! Just in case you-all didn't see the info below on the main RootsWeb's recent mailing, please note -- and act! If Hastert's bill succeeds the way it is now, it will make it impossible for those of us doing genealogy to get birth records for ancestors at all! At the very least, the amendment is needed to keep this from happening. Read about it, then go to the website to locate your person in congress, and write or phone or email to let your voice be heard. Keeping us from getting birth records of ancestors of more than 100 years ago is a silly and stupid idea! Thanks for making your voice heard. Jeaneane Williams (Copied directly from RootsWeb's recent mailing) National Genealogical Society and Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), has sent a letter to the bill's sponsor, Congressman J. Dennis Hastert, recommending an amendment to the bill that make a distinction between certified and non-certified copies and excludes records more than 100 years old. A copy of the letter is available on the FGS site at: http://www.fgs.org/rpa/formalactions.htm. To view this bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ Enter HR10 in the search box for "Bill Number." Concerned U.S. family historians who wish to contact their congressional representative can go to: http://www.house.gov/ and enter their zip code. Follow the link to the representative's website to obtain his/her contact information.