As Congress lurches closer to a decision on an enormous overhaul of the American health care system, pressure is mounting on legislative leaders to make the final bill available online for citizens to read before a vote.Lawmakers were given just hours to examine the $789 billion stimulus plan, sweeping climate-change legislation and a $700 billion bailout package before final votes.While most Americans normally ignore parliamentary detail, with health care looming, voters are suddenly paying attention. The Senate is expected to vote on a health bill in the weeks to come, representing months of work and stretching to hundreds of pages. And as of now, there is no assurance that members of the public, or even the senators themselves, will be given the chance to read the legislation before a vote.
These Congressional doofuses are shocked that people want to see these bills online. Were they not paying attention during the last election? It’s what was promised. Now people want it! And Congress is stunned!
You get the government you deserve.
Of course they’re against this. If they posted bills online, some nerds would read them and then tell us all what they said. Can’t have people knowing what their representatives are actually doing. If they knew, they might pick a different batch of representatives.
What I often wonder about, many countries have civil services, with mandates to act within their sphere of responsibility without having to wake up the old folks home (congress or parliament). Does the USA have to pass federal legislation about everything?
Transparency in government is LOST..
So, HOw the hell are we supposed to TELL our reps, to vote.
If they put everything online, the TeaBaggers will just grab out-of-context lines and make up more lies, like they did with “death panels” and the idea that you’d have to retrofit your house to be green before you could sell it. It will generate nothing but more confusion, and make real change even harder to achieve.
Being more transparent is good if you have a responsible public, not the vicious racist rightwing nutjob mob we see ranting and screeching every day on tv. I’d rather have them pass the bills in secret, shoving them down Republican throats on partyline votes. Then when they are enacted, regular people will see that they are not the Nazi-like totalitarian rules the right claimed they were.
We no longer live in a country that can discuss things rationally, so I say we stop trying and just do what’s best regardless of what FOX-ites think.
Only a few hours to examine a $700 billion bill? What kind of half a$$ed system are you running there?
#5… Uhhh..Riiiiiight. That’s the stupidest argument I can imagine for Congress hiding the legislation before they vote on it. So you are actually in FAVOR of hiding legislation from the public because the right wing MIGHT CRITICIZE it?
Holy shit~
#5 With thinking like that you could easily become the Czar of White House Communications.
Failure to be transparent, should be punishable by death.
What damn difference does it make? At the last minute they’ll tack on a dozen or more amendments that may or – more likely – may not have anything to do with the bill. In fact, I’m surprised they haven’t picked some nice safe topic like “The Guaranteed Rainbows After Thunderstorms Act” and tack on a thousand page health care plan moments before the vote.
The right wing will not just criticize it, they will lie about it and send out armed mobs to threaten congress members.
This is not criticism.
Moderate Democrats (the majority) are perfectly capable of making sure the bills do not go too far and protecting the rights of the people. There is no real reason that people need to see the bills as long as their …REPRESENTATIVES (the people they voted in to act in their stead, remember?) are part of the process.
Should we hear all the discussions between the president, his advisors and foreign leaders before he makes decisions? If not, are you not arguing against transparency? The whole point of representative government is that it’s too cumbersome for each of us to personally put our 2 cents in…the process is designed to avoid exactly what the TeaBaggers are trying to have; mob rule by armed screaming crowds.
We won the election, we have the power, why not use it? The election gave Obama and the Democrats free rein.
So #5 would you feel that same way with a Republican President, and a Republican dominated House and Senate? Just curious.
Wow #5 I hope you’re just a troll. I can’t believe that you really believe that the majority of Democrats are moderate, but every Republican is a raving far-right “teabagger”. What about the Libertarians and Democrats (yes, there were some) that attended the teaparties?
Here is a very good CNN article on just how badly the Obama camp has misled us about transparency.
It’s truly amazing.
Obviously, it’s time to do away with Representative Government and move on to DIRECT DEMOCRACY – Citizens vote on line for every bill !!! We ordinary Citizens can’t get anything out of the Corporate-bought-and-paid-for Congress !!!
The People overwhelming want SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE and it’s not even on the table !!!
IF’ they want to hide, WHAT they are doing from us…Then WHY VOTE for them..
I want a selection for “NONE OF THE ABOVE”
WRITE INS, never make it.
Lets Threaten ALL OF THEM…
KICK THEM ALL OUT OF OFFICE..
it will save MORE money then anything ELSE we can do.
IMPEACH them ALL…NOW..
If we can pick the good ones OUT…FINE..with the IDIOTS GONE, maybe the good ones can GET SOMETHING DONE.
# I said it was wrong then and I say it is wrong now. Obama said it was wrong then. Now he favors rushing bills through and passing them unread. I think he was right then and trying to be a long legged mac daddy now.
I want those bills posted on line at least 72 hours before a vote.
One last point, anyone that puts blind faith in Congress is out of their minds. It is as stupid as buying a used car or house you have never even seen. If you act like a chump somebody is going to rip you off.
The rule is and always has been buyer beware.
#17:
This is why California is bankrupt. No thanks.
What a bunch of ignorant ijits. A Liebertarian hit piece and you ijits ate it up. This just goes to show how many of you failed Civics class. It also shows how many of you are such gullible suckers for this bullshit.
Every bill goes through committee. In committee every bill is hammered out, amendments added, language adjusted, opinion and comment sought, and issues raised. Then the committee votes on the bill, including the minority party representatives.
Any member, Representative or Senator, may sit in on a committee hearing or receive an update with the exception of the intelligence and defense committees meeting or considering secret items. At any time they may receive a copy of any bill being considered by the committee including proposed amendments.
Very few bills are ever revised or amended on the floor after leaving the committee. That is the purpose of the committees. If they were it would tie up Congress so badly nothing would ever get done.
#16, Ah Yea,
Here is a very good CNN article on just how badly the Obama camp has misled us about transparency.
from your article.
“The administration’s transparency goals clearly have not been reached,” said John Clippinger, co-director, of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. “I think this administration is making a huge effort to enable them, considering where we’ve been in the last eight years,…
“We share SIGTARP’s interest in tracking the level of lending by those institutions that have received government investment,” a Treasury official said. “To that end, Treasury has released monthly reports tracking how much these institutions are actually lending.”
It sure looks like the Obama Administration is a lot more transparent than you want to suggest they are.
It’s obvious the TPTB are in a panic and trying to covertly fast track as much as possible in a last ditch attempt before the “year of transformation” that 2009 is fated
to be, takes place.
the stars have some very
interesting changes in store
for us this year.
I think they need people to willingly
agree to subvert their fellow man in order to snatch up their spirit, -or in order for one to be “stuck” in the physical-negative..so TPTB can revel in controlling you etc..
simple stuff really..
-once you read the ancient mythos. 🙂
bottom line: stay in the positive and work towards helping the rest of us
achieve the same.
capeche?
-s
oh and people..wake up already and stop supporting either party.
in case you haven’t noticed, neither
ever keeps their word in the long run.
-s
Put everything on line for at least 6 months. Require every congressclown to pass a public quiz (in front of a town hall) on the contents of a bill to prove they actually read it before they are allowed to vote on it.
The US government has never been transparent. Unfortunately (for them) the information age is here to stay. So of course these piggies want to protect their pork barrelling ways. They’ll squeal and squeal but they’ll have to give in sooner or later. Now where’s my barbecue sauce…
This is the one issue that defines the modern democratic party to its core. The democrats know if the American people actually see what they are doing they are fucked. Republicans are no better.
I don’t know of any of the lawmakers that I respect wanting this. They all WANT to have bills online ASAP.
This seems to be another smear campaign by the right wing Heritage Foundation. It was okay to do it when the Republicans wanted to shove the Patriot Act down our throats, but when some Dems want to do it, it’s not okay.
It seems that these people live by double standards.
AFAIC, ALL bills should be posted to THOMAS, as they are introduced, in FULL. Not a day later, not an hour later, but the moment that they are introduced.
little pedro is a walking talking example of projection. He hates Obama with a rabid passion, and projects that fanaticism onto anyone who disagrees with him. Ergo, anyone who disagrees with him is a fanatic Obama lover.
Sorry, little pedro. No Obama supporter has the passion that you flaming wingnuts have in your hatred. We like him, mostly, but there are some things we don’t like about him too, mostly the stuff Dubya did that he’s carrying on.
#29 the piggies in congress, they’re the ones that have something to lose from posting bills online. If the public were constantly reminded that everytime a bill gets passed on capitol hill the piggies line up to porkbarrel, maybe, that would be enough to put a stop to it.
Sigh.. blind defenders… little pedro, do you even bother to read what anyone else writes? I guess not. Ah well, carry on.