Wyoming lawmakers shoot down "doomsday" bill

February 28, 2012 - 8:06 PM

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming lawmakers have shot down the so-called doomsday bill, a proposal that would have resulted in a plan of action in case the federal government collapses.

The bill would have set up a task force to create a strategy for a replacement state currency and a military, complete with an aircraft carrier for the landlocked state. The military amendment was a tongue-in-cheek addition from an opponent who thought the rest of the measure was a waste of time.

Republican state Rep. Kermit Brown says the aircraft carrier plan injected "a little bit of humor into the bill."

The absurdist provision brought enough attention that the bill's sponsor, Republican state Rep. David Miller, thinks it killed the proposal.

Miller says the risk of catastrophic government failure is real given the present course in Washington D.C. and Europe.