Comments on: Will Congress Read Bills Before Voting?

[kennyrodgers]

Would some intelligent person tell me precisely how anyone could read and have time to comprehend a bill in 5 days when the bill is probably around 1,000 pages in legalese? Ain't happenin' my friends. We need a longer time frame.

[cujat]

This rush to push through massive bills without reading them or explaining them to the public is very scary. We dont even know where this money is going after its collected by our ever expanding government yet we are being told we must do this or face dire consequences. Fear seems to be the tactic of choice which I remember seemed to bother people about our last administration...where is the outrage?

[saturn05]

How can they vote on something when they know nothing about it. I sometimes just hate politicians. Not a wonder whyour country is in such a mess.

[amigabill]

I've mentioned this to my congresscritters a few times. Suggested mandating reasonable time to read and understand a bill before voting, forbidding last-minute changes just before the vote (such as something like no one knows where the RAT Board text in a recent bill came from just before vote), and also mandating a text edit tracking system so they will never again not know who put something there or when. It would also IMHO help by saying that when it's time to vote, we're going to vote on revision 873, so get really familiar with that revision of the bill text. Any potential 874 or later revisions would be void by definition of the vote being for 873. I think it's ludicrous that even those who have put in the effort to read and understand the bill don't know if what's on the table during the vote is the same text they have poured through or not.
I also believe there should be no such thing as a "must-pass" bill. That simply should not exist.
And I also also believe that off-topic riders or earmarks should be forbidden. If a topic cannot survive into law on its own, maybe it just should not be. Dont' go sticking RIAA sponsored stuff into war spending bills and other such tomfoolery.
And the people should be able to have access to what their laws and bills say. None of this international copyright is too secret for anyone to see what it is crap.

[ralpherus]

I swear to GOD- anyone in congress who votes on a bill they did not read needs to be hanged. Brutally apprehended and smacked until bloody, rolled in salt then hoisted by a noose around their neck and hanged until fully dehydrated. God damned stupid vermin- if you want a job, and spend millions of dollars to get it, DO IT. Stop being parasitical pieces of excrement and DO YOUR JOB- which, you probably are too stupid to understand, is PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM< NOT ATTACKING IT.

[Aldymac]

Voter remorse from those who voted democrat is gaining speed. As for those who want to see the GOP done away with, then you will see the will of the people vanish as well. Hitler did away with all opposition in one way or another, he was a national socialist, Obama is a national socialist, take your pick, neither one of them had the will of the people in their agenda. One destroyed his country in one way the other has an agenda to destroy this country in another way.
"The ignorance of the people", is how corrupt polititions live off the "fat of the land", if they don't know what is in what they are voting for they feel like they aren't responsible for what happens, as long as it doesn't bother their conscience.

[michaelm07]

I cannot believe the American voters from either side of the aisle tolerate Congress voting on anything not read and or debated. And this coming from Mr Transparent President Obama - yeah, it's transparent that he doesn't care what anyone thinks. As a Repesentative Republic (the U.S. is not a Democracy per se, as many people think), we vote for our representatives to "represent" us. We elect them to be our eyes, ears and votes in the congress. We entrust them to do it for us. How many of you think they are actually doing that. They clearly do not fear the electorate and just as Atlas Shrugged was prophetic on one end of the literary scale, "Idiocracy" (a very ridiculous film) is prophetic on the other end of the spectrum. The people got exactly what they voted for, how many regret their votes - be careful what you wish for.

[WesleyMouch]

"Let Freedom Ring has no authority or right to demand that they be allowed to read ANY bill or piece of legislation before it is signed. They cannot demand that they and the public have a right to read these bills first. Get real!"

Ok, let me explain the concept of a "representative". The idea is that the "representative" "represents" the interests of his or her constituents. Are you with me so far? Am I moving too fast for you?

Therefore, we, the citizens of the United States, expect that our representatives actually read and understand the legislation they are voting on. LetFreedomRing absolutely has the right to read and review the legislation Congress votes on, just like any other citizen or group of citizens. Why don't you get real?

[waldo38]

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

....But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
BOTH PARTIES ARE CORRUPT. Stand by...things could get interesting.

[kevintheelder]

I'm not sure if it's even possible; of course I know it's not likely, however, ideally We The People should have a yearly RATIFICATION ELECTION to say yea or nay to any bill passed during the year; details to be worked out.