Read The Bill: Ya Think?!
I’ve been fairly quiet on the political front of late, preferring to read what others are saying and commenting on their blogs. There are plenty of people who are much more actively involved in following what is going on in Washington, DC, so I don’t mind that they’re the ones doing the heavy lifting.
ObamaCare And Your Life
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However, I’m finding that the debate on the proposed national health care plan is something that I cannot let pass by as the ramifications for my family personally and for our nation corporately will likely be felt for many years.
For the record, I certainly believe that health care reform is critically important, but if you’ve followed some of my postings on SayEducate.com this week, then you know that I think reform begins with fixing what we have first before expanding the system.
I’m not looking to debate the health care plan as I am finding it difficult to gather accurate information about what exactly is being proposed. I know that some people, including Peter Fleckenstein, have gotten a hold of the bill and are digging through it for the rest of us, but I’m also learning that the bill itself is constantly changing.
Congress Takes A Break
Maybe it is a good thing that Congress is about to start their August recess — we’ll have plenty of time to examine the 1017 page health bill which our elected officials seem unwilling to do. But that is the point of this article — Congress isn’t reading this bill nor are they reading many of the other bills being rushed through and put on the president’s desk for his signature. This is appalling — many of our congressmen and senators are lawyers; who ever heard of an attorney not reading everything with a fine tooth comb first?!
It seems that I’m not the only one who is perplexed by this practice with one organization, the Sunlight Foundation, doing something about it. Specifically, the Sunlight Foundation created a website called, ReadThe Bill.org, which is championing a bill — H.Res.504 — from Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) which will require legislation being voted on in the House to be available online for 72 hours prior to debate.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
This Congress is considering trillions of dollars in new spending and isn’t even taking the time to read most of what they’re getting. For some reason, and I’m sure we can all offer our own ideas, Congress thinks that they have to rush through whatever is put before them without taking the time to find out what they’re voting on.
I say, let’s make our Congress slow down and consider each bill first while giving the citizenry a chance to review the proposed legislation too. A 72 hour posting period to the internet is extremely fair and is actually 48 hours shorter than what President Obama promised on June 22, 2007:
When there is a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you will have five days to look online and find out what’s in it before I sign it.
Fair enough! But we’ll settle for three days, Mr. President, if you encourage Congress to support Rep. Brian Baird’s bill and sign it into law.
Tags: Barack Obama, Brian Baird, Congress, H.Res.504, House, HR 3200, ObamaCare, President Obama, ReadTheBill.org, Senate, Sunlight Foundation
Politics | Matthew C. Keegan, 31 Jul 09
By Vlad Zablotskyy, July 31, 2009 @ 9:11 am
I am not surprised. But then, I was born in Soviet Union and now live NJ
. Oh guess our elected officials are too buys…… hmmm doing other things I guess.
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By Dominique, July 31, 2009 @ 9:22 am
It is funny that you chose to write on this today because I was going to discuss the bill issue on my blog but from a slightly different perspective. I totally support this idea but I still wonder if it will be enough because of the marking up sessions. Perhaps we should also add that the bill be re-posted every time changes are made to the existing bill. As you said, it is hard to keep up when it is forever changing. Of course, that may be in the plans, I’m not sure.
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By Matthew C. Keegan, July 31, 2009 @ 9:32 am
@Vlad — I bet you never thought you’d see Soviet style politics in the US. It must make you feel homesick, but more likely sick to your stomach!
@Dominique — The changes are annoying! One moment you can frame the debate over a certain point and then that section is struck from the bill in committee. Certainly, it isn’t perfect (and I think one week minimum would be better) but it is a start. It also demonstrates that Barack Obama hasn’t kept one of his campaign promises when he said that we would have five days to look at bills online before offered for a vote.
By Fernando, July 31, 2009 @ 10:51 am
It seems that the public needs to be more involved and certainly concerned about this very important bill. If the public knew what this bill is really bringing to our future there would be outrage ,I’m glad to hear congress is in recess to give the public time to comment.
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By Matthew C. Keegan, July 31, 2009 @ 11:01 am
Fernando, I agree — we need to be more involved with the legislative process including digging deeper to find out what this bill is all about. I hope that Congress has a nice rest too; maybe some members will return to Washington, DC in September sufficiently chastened for scaring the American people!
By Vlad Zablotskyy, July 31, 2009 @ 11:18 am
Sick to my stomach… I really hope Obama would actually try socialized medicine himself. But I bet that he or our elected officials have the best health care plans out there.
I truly hope the health care in this country will not end up in the place where the health care of the former Soviet Union is now- believe me you don’t want that kind of health care.
What amazes me is that there is still no clear answer on who in the end will swallow the bill for this Obama-Care reform. I am afraid it is you and I.
It is however disturbing that Obamas reform may provide a loophole where my and your money may be used for an aborion and but a health care be denied for some one that really needs it.
As far as our politicians go, they do not care unless they faced with loosing their jobs. Why are we voting them in year after year???
Vlad Zablotskyy´s last blog ..Google Local Business Center Now Offers Reports and Statistics
By Matthew C. Keegan, July 31, 2009 @ 11:37 am
Vlad, this president is a disaster for our country. We’re seeing socialism unfold before our eyes and many Americans are blind to this.
The $787 billion bail out package wasn’t enough for this president. Now, he wants to shove down our throats what will soon become a multi-trillion dollar health plan. What’s more, that plan will contain an abortion provision, limit our choices of doctors, quash medical research and ration care.
Obama doesn’t bring me the right kind of change that I can live with.
By LarryJackson, July 31, 2009 @ 9:51 pm
Good article, Matt.
Not only should Congress be required to read the legislation they are voting on, but they should also stop packing each bill with completely unrelated amendments. Some of the items that are stuck together defy all notion of common sense.
By Matt Keegan, August 1, 2009 @ 4:59 am
Agreed, Larry. Various riders and amendments to some of the bills they push through are not related to the issue at hand. This sort of back door approach has been practiced for ages, by both political parties, and is a major reason why much of the citizenry is fed up with the political sphere.
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