Legislatures should have to read bills before voting on them.

[Walter Powers]

We've seen a lot of bills going through the American congress lately that are so "comprehensive" that most of our elected officials don't even read it. Some examples would be ObamaCare and the recent immigration reform bill. They are so gigantic, I don't blame them. But maybe that should be a reason not to pass it? How would you know what's in there? What if hidden in the immigration bill is a tax hike for the middle class? They wouldn't know! As Nancy Pelosi once said of ObamaCare, "We have to pass the bill to know what's in it".

I think this is crazy. The main job of an elected official is to READ the proposed bills, and then vote on them according to how they think it will best impact the people of the jurisdiction in which they represent. This isn't happening.

I think that a law should be passed requiring congresspeople and senators to read all of every bill before voting on it. If it is determined that they didn't read the bill, they should be punished somehow. I would recommend significantly cutting their salary, as they aren't doing there job and don't deserve it. I also think this would probably be a good policy for other legislatures around the world.

Finally, it should be noted I think that this should include the President. Lincoln put in 16 hour days 7 days a week; I think he can handle it. This also actually might help him politically, as he'd be more aware of what he's passing.

[SCHS1998]

I have to agree, if you vote on it you should read it.

[Bougainvillea]

When it comes to ObamaCare, it's not long because its just filler. That shit is there for a fucking reason, and if its too fucking long for you to bother reading it, even though its important, then maybe you shouldn't be there in the first place.

[Origami]

If its too fucking long for you to bother reading it, even though its important, then maybe you shouldn't be there in the first place.

And /thread.

[Maverick]

IRS Agents should read the 10,000 page tax code too.

[Walter Powers]

IRS Agents should read the 10,000 page tax code too.

I totally agree! Maybe then they'd know they can't ask 501 (c) applicants for donor lists and make them public!

[saea97]

This issue is hardly contentious, is it? Could an argument even be made that NOT reading the bills would be a better course of action?

[Walter Powers]

This issue is hardly contentious, is it? Could an argument even be made that NOT reading the bills would be a better course of action?

Well, as it stands most politicians didn't read ObamaCare or the immigration reform before voting on them, so I guess most of congress disagrees, as well as the president.

[Taryn98]

I agree with what you said, but even worse a lot of legislators who "write" the bills don't even know what's in them. If you've ever watched state of federal Congress in action they spend a lot of time asking their staff what's in the bill because even though they sponsor it, they are clueless.
it's sad.

[Walter Powers]

I agree with what you said, but even worse a lot of legislators who "write" the bills don't even know what's in them. If you've ever watched state of federal Congress in action they spend a lot of time asking their staff what's in the bill because even though they sponsor it, they are clueless.
it's sad.

Good point.

[FrostWraith]

One could argue that reading the bills is a waste of time. The language of the law doesn't matter nearly as much as how it is actually implemented. Nobody's going to write something ridiculous into a really long bill and then lie about the contents; it would be political suicide if they tried to bring up that part of the bill to enforce it. That said, Congress isn't doing a lot anyway, so maybe they could all read the bills in their spare time.

[Zach4110]

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/5994358016/h02C286A5/

[Nellerin]

We've seen a lot of bills going through the American congress lately that are so "comprehensive" that most of our elected officials don't even read it. Some examples would be ObamaCare and the recent immigration reform bill. They are so gigantic, I don't blame them. But maybe that should be a reason not to pass it? How would you know what's in there? What if hidden in the immigration bill is a tax hike for the middle class? They wouldn't know! As Nancy Pelosi once said of ObamaCare, "We have to pass the bill to know what's in it".

I think this is crazy. The main job of an elected official is to READ the proposed bills, and then vote on them according to how they think it will best impact the people of the jurisdiction in which they represent. This isn't happening.

I think that a law should be passed requiring congresspeople and senators to read all of every bill before voting on it. If it is determined that they didn't read the bill, they should be punished somehow. I would recommend significantly cutting their salary, as they aren't doing there job and don't deserve it. I also think this would probably be a good policy for other legislatures around the world.

Finally, it should be noted I think that this should include the President. Lincoln put in 16 hour days 7 days a week; I think he can handle it. This also actually might help him politically, as he'd be more aware of what he's passing.

If you have ever seen the Simpsons Movie (from a while ago) Arnold Schwarzenegger's character as Governor says a few times during the film "I was elected to LEAD not to READ" while choosing to do really bad stuff.

I feel like that is the exact issue and current state of the American Government, so I agree with you. These "leaders" are voting on things either just for the hell of it, or because (more widespread on the Republican side) they are completely voting by their political affiliation and only ever voting with their basic Party beliefs.