Congressman Lee Calls For "Read the Bill" Reform

Press Release

Speaking at the North Tonawanda Library today, Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) discussed the need for all legislation before the House of Representatives to be made public for at least 72 hours before a vote. Earlier this year, Members of Congress, the public and press were given just 12 hours to review the 1,073-page long stimulus bill that cost taxpayers $787 billion.

"Western New Yorkers are frustrated with the lack of transparency in government, and rightfully so," said Congressman Lee. "There's no way for the public, the press, or Members of Congress to know exactly what is in these massive spending bills before being required to vote on them. This common-sense reform is long past due."

The Sunlight Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving transparency within the Federal government, reports that there have been at least two dozen occasions in 2009 alone where House leadership has shelved transparency rules, including votes on national energy tax and children's health insurance legislation. The cap-and-trade national energy tax was 1,428 pages long and cost the American taxpayers $846 billion dollars, yet it was only presented to the public, press, and Members of Congress a mere 16 and a half hours before it was voted on by the House.

More than 180 Members of Congress including both Republicans and Democrats have signed on to a discharge petition that would force a vote on legislation that has been blocked by the majority leadership. In addition, Congressman Lee is a co-sponsor of H. Res. 554, a bipartisan resolution introduced by Reps. John Culberson (R-TX) and Brian Baird (D-WA) that would prohibit the House from considering any measure that has not been publicly available via the Internet for 72 hours.
"This is not a Republican issue and it's not a Democrat issue," Lee added. "Bad process leads to bad policy, andWestern New York taxpayers deserve the ability to weigh in on these important and complicated pieces of legislation which are being rushed through Congress."
What They Are Saying About "Read the Bill" Reform:

"So far, the leadership of both houses has been resistant to such [read the bills] pleas. Backbenchers are being told simply to trust that Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi know what they're doing in remaking the health care economy." (Wall Street Journal, 10/7/09)
· Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.): "[O]nly about 5 percent of Americans would understand complex legislative language, no matter how long they have to read it." (Politico, 9/24/09)
· Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: "[C]alls the concept "sound" but opposes the resolution because it's not feasible." (The Hill, 10/2/09)
The American Public, Democrats, Republicans, Pundits and the Sunlight Foundation Agree We Need "Read the Bill" Reform:
A new Rasmussen poll of 1,000 voters found that 83 percent of the public wants Congress to post legislation online two weeks before voting on it. There is no partisan disagreement on the issue. Eighty-five percent 85% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats and 92% of voters not affiliated with either party favor posting non-emergency bills online for the public to read before they are voted on by Congress. (Rasmussen, 9/26/09)
The Wall Street Journal: "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," 9/26/09)
"Stimulus bill a sorry spectacle. What a joke. Your Congress has voted to spend almost $790 billion of your money on a stimulus package that not a single member of either chamber has read. The 1,073-page document wasn't posted on the government's website until after 10 p.m. the day before the vote to pass it was taken." (Jack Cafferty, CNN.com, 2/17/09)

"Energy bill a travesty containing who knows what. The cap-and-trade bill passed the House of Representatives shrouded in a fog of willful ignorance and calculated irrationality. No one could be sure what he was voting for -- not after a 300-page amendment added at 3:09 a.m. the day of its passage. The bill is so complex and jerry-built that even its supporters can't know how, or if, it will work. And it's impossible for someone to know whether the motivating crisis, impending planetary doom, will ever materialize." (Rich Lowry, Salt Lake Tribune, 6/30/09)

Sunlight Foundation: "H. Res. 554 would help ensure that rushed bills become a thing of the past. If a discharge petition is the only way to get a vote on this piece of legislation, we're all for it." (Sunlight Foundation, 9/23/09)

Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA): "This is a common-sense, oughta-be-done, good-of-the-country position. If you are not on that position, the question is, why not? And the answer is you are somehow being pressured not to get on it or you have to defend it [with] some arcane, workings-of-the-House, discretion-of-the-majority-leader [argument] -- that's a tough sell when at the end of the day you're voting for something you haven't read." (The Hill, 10/2/09)

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR):"Make no mistake about it: This has been a bad practice under both Republican and Democratic control of the House. It's time to let the sunshine in. It's time to change how the House operates." (Politico, 9/24/09)
To learn more about Congressman Lee's efforts to hold Washington accountable for how it spends Western New Yorkers' hard-earned taxpayer dollars visit http://chrislee.house.gov/wastewatch.

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