From the "Lawmakers with time on their hands" file...

Congress just passed a law that regulates the volume of commercials. Now those awful ads that SCREAM at you (capitalized for effect) are against the law. This will surely hurt sales of Billy Mays' posthumous greatest hits album (too soon?).

Anyway, Fast Company reports this better than I can:

Sick of advertisers from Bender & Bender to ShamWow jacking up the VOLUME on you during commercial breaks? It's the bane of every couch potato's existence, and a tool shameless marketers use to grab your attention by amping up an ad's decibels. Finally, however, before energy, immigration, and jobs, Washington has passed television reform. This is one prized piece of legislation that most every mid-term candidate is sure to tout come November.

Aptly named the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM), the bill, passed Thursday by the Senate, puts a limit on the volume of television commercials, banning advertisers from raising the volume louder than regular programming.

LOOK, IT EVEN COMES WITH A STUPID ACRONYM!!!