Local congressman goes halfway toward H. Res. 554's mandate for transparency
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, is a co-sponsor of House Resolution 554, also known as the "Read the Bill" resolution. This is a bipartisan resolution that would amend the rules of the House of Representatives to require the Internet posting of all non-emergency legislation for 72 hours before it can be considered on the House floor. This is not only necessary; it is common sense.
An overwhelming majority of the American public agrees with the principles of this resolution. A new Zogby poll, commissioned by Let Freedom Ring, found that 91 percent of Americans want all non-emergency legislation to be posted on the Internet for at least 72 hours before Congress votes on it, if not more.
This stance is not limited to self-described conservatives or Republicans. Democrats and Independents also overwhelmingly support this effort. Its value extends beyond the walls of Congress to Main Street America. The August recess town halls proved conclusively that ordinary citizens can comprehend arcane legislative language, and they can ferret out egregious portions. Even President Obama, during his campaign, stated that he would not sign any non-emergency legislation unless it had been posted online for five days to permit the public to read and comment on it.
This year, sweeping legislative proposals that could fundamentally restructure our health care system, energy use, economic stimulus spending and vast segments of our overall economy are being debated in Congress. Regrettably, neither Members of Congress nor the public have been given adequate time to delve into the details of these major pieces of legislation before they're made law.
Take, for instance, the "cap-and-trade" bill the House recently passed. It is 1,428 pages long and has a price tag of $846 billion, but Members of Congress and the public only had 16.5 hours to read the legislation before it was voted on.
The same thing happened with the stimulus bill and health care reform legislation. There were merely 12 hours available to review the stimulus bill's 1,073 pages, and committee members had only 14 hours and 43 minutes to read the 1,026 pages of the proposed health care reform.
Never mind that this is not nearly enough time for the public to review and comment on the bills -- there is no feasible way that even well-staffed Members of Congress can sufficiently comprehend all of the complexities present in bills that are more than one thousand pages long in less than 24 hours.
In short, this cannot stand.
Amending the House rules to require the online post of bills for Representatives and the public alike to read and review will change the legislative process for the better.
But Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has stalled the "Read the Bill" resolution in the House Rules Committee. If this continues, the resolution will not even be voted on. There is one way to get around her roadblock. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., has filed a discharge petition that will force the Speaker to schedule a vote on the "Read the Bill" resolution if it attracts 218 signatures from members of Congress. So far, 182 Members have signed the petition. Only 36 more signatures are needed.
Of local interest is this puzzling fact: Although Costa is one of the co-sponsors of H.Res. 554, he has so far failed to sign the petition that would bring it to the House floor for a vote. A cynic might conclude that he is in favor of the idea when it doesn't count -- when it's stuck in the committee and going nowhere -- but that when his vote could really make a difference, he's invisible.
The American people want transparency. They are willing to read the legislation -- even if Members of Congress are not -- and they want the opportunity to do so. Costa has taken a commendable step in the right direction by co-sponsoring H. Res. 554. Now we must urge him to sign the Walden discharge petition to get the bill on the floor of the House.
Colin A. Hanna is president of Let Freedom Ring, which recently launched an initiative calling for most bills to be posted online 72 hours before Congress votes on them.
