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They still don’t read the bleeping bills!

**Posted by Phineas

You would think after being embarrassed in front of the nation during the ObamaCare debates by the public revelation that many members don’t read the bills they’re voting on, or aren’t given the time to read them, that Congress might actually start taking the time to read at least major legislation.

You would be very, very foolish [1]:

After blasting the Senate last week for passing a 600-page bill no one had time to read, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced legislation that would force the Senate to give its members one day to read bills for every 20 pages they contain.

“For goodness sakes, this is a 600-page bill. I got it this morning,” Paul said Friday, just before the Senate approved a massive bill extending highway funding, federal flood insurance and low student loans rates.

“Not one member of the Senate will read this bill before we vote on it,” he added.
Paul also introduced related legislation Friday, S. 3359, that would prohibit the inclusion of more than one subject in a single bill.

The highway-flood-student loan bill came up just one day before authorization for highway spending was set to expire, and two days before the interest rate on loans was set to double to 6.8 percent. But Paul said that is no excuse for rushing a bill to the floor without giving senators a chance to learn what’s in it.

He also noted that Senate rules require bills to be held for 48 hours before they receive a vote so members can read them, but said the Senate failed to follow even that minimal rule.

“At the very least, we ought to adhere to our own rules,” he said. “Forty-eight hours is still a challenge to find out everything in here.”

And yet these are the people who write our laws and increasingly govern the minutest details of our lives.  [2]

What was it a sage once said about how one learns what’s in a bill? Oh, yeah… [3]

Along with Senator Paul’s suggestion, I’ve thought all bills, save in an emergency or a national security matter, should be posted for three days on the Internet for public comment. Regardless, I find myself siding with Rand Paul more and more. I may not agree with him much on foreign affairs, but on domestic matters, it’s getting to be “not just yes, but hell, yes!”

via Reason [4], which has video.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets [5])