Rep. Foster Votes To Ensure Lawmakers Have 72 Hours To Review Legislation

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Rep. Foster Votes To Ensure Lawmakers Have 72 Hours To Review Legislation

Today, Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted for the Republican Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 2892, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010. The motion passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 258-163.

"As a businessman and a scientist, I value facts and careful thinking over ideology or party loyalty, and I voted for this measure because it included a commonsense measure to give lawmakers time to analyze the final bill before voting," said Foster.

The Republican Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 2892 instructed Conferees not to approve a conference agreement that has not been available electronically on the web in its final form for at least 72 hours. The instructions also require the inclusion on the No Fly List to detainees held in Guantanamo Bay and to prohibit the funds available in H.R. 2892 from providing any immigration benefit to any individual detained at Guantanamo Bay.

When the House and the Senate pass different versions of the same bill, they must resolve differences between the versions. Sometimes, differences are resolved when both chambers agree to go to conference on a measure. A Motion to Instruct Conferees is a nonbinding vote of the House to tell its conference committee members how they should resolve an issue.

"Motions to Instruct are important so that when the Conferees meet, they represent the will of the entire House of Representatives and not just party leadership," said Foster.

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