WHAT’S THE BIG RUSH??
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE TRANSPARENCY TOO!
Earlier this year, 12 HOURS TO REVIEW A 1,073 PAGE STIMULUS BILL–COSTING THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER $787 BILLION. The 1, 428 PAGE CAP AND TRADE BILL COSTING A COOL $846 BILLION HAS THE LONGEST TIME–16.5 HOURS.
“ A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money"? (or anything very close to that?)” “Scoop” Jackson (Dem. of Wash.) or Evertt Dirkson (Rep. of Ill.)
NOW THE 1000+ PAGE HEALTHCARE REFORM LOOMS OVER AMERICA
--And 12 hours to read it??
Congress (in fact 359 members of Congress) wanted a 72-hour review period for an agriculture appropriations bill, why not the same for all bills. With all the thousands of protests about this major reform of healthcare, how dare the U.S. Congress rush this one through. Not only should there be more time–the taxpayers who are going to pay for this should also read it.
AND THAT’S POSSIBLE WITH THE INTERNET AVAILABLE.
ISN’T THIS COUNTRY STILL A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE??
The Wall Street Journal recently had this article::
“Polls show overwhelming agreement outside the Beltway that it's more important for Congress to get health-care reform done right than done quickly. A Polling Company survey conducted last month found 95% agreeing that members of Congress shouldn't vote on any bill they haven't read in full. … It's time for Congress to change its ways. Haste can make for more than waste and lead to populist outrage that often takes on a life of its own. That happened after this year's stimulus bill included the infamous provision authorizing executives of bailed-out AIG to get retroactive bonuses. (“Congress needs a 72-hour waiting period,” by John Fund, Sept. 26)”
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) launched a petition to bring H. Res. 554 up for a vote, which would ensure that the public, press, and members of Congress have at least 72 hours to read and understand bills in the House.
“If the 72-hour rule is good enough for the agriculture appropriations bill, then what stops my colleagues from signing the petition to give the public time to review all bills, like major healthcare reform?” Walden said. “This is about one thing: the public’s right to know. It’s time to change how Washington works.”
Evertt Dirkson,, as Scoop Jackson, had a lot to say about "spending" bills::
"One time in the House of Representatives [a colleague] told me a story about a proposition that a teacher put to a boy. He said, ‘Johnny, a cat fell in a well 100 feet deep. Suppose that cat climbed up 1 foot and then fell back 2 feet. How long would it take the cat to get out of the well?'
"Johnny worked assiduously with his slate and slate pencil for quite a while, and then when the teacher came down and said, ‘How are you getting along?' Johnny said, ‘Teacher, if you give me another slate and a couple of slate pencils, I am pretty sure that in the next 30 minutes I can land that cat in hell.'
Somehow I have the feeling that’s exactly where this administration is taking us.
SLOW DOWN–LET US AT LEAST READ THE BILL!
KOINONIKOS