Mr Lott's device is an amendment to the bill that would ban unions from making political contributions from their members' and non-members' dues without their priorpermission.
This is when you break out in a cold sweat because this is the moment you remember there is always a section asking for references and for your permission for HR to call your prior employers.
More worrying, from the scientists' point of view, is that new areas of bioscience may become classified, that the government is considering reviewing work prior to publication (with an option on refusing permission to publish) and that it might insist that the methods sections of some research papers are removed.