kotetu
11-27-2007, 04:54 PM
Make Congress pass DownsizeDC.org's "One Subject at a Time Act"
Most Americans probably believe a bill has to have majority support in Congress before it can become the law of the land. Sadly, this common sense expectation is totally wrong. Congressional leaders routinely pass laws that a majority opposes. They accomplish this by combining unpopular bills with completely unrelated measures that a majority supports. This legislative shell-game makes a mockery of representative government. I believe every bill should have to stand or fall on its own merits. Toward this end DownsizeDC.org has crafted the "One Subject at a Time Act" (OSTA). Please join me in urging Congress to pass this legislation.
ht tp://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=83
Guys, this bill ends "riders", a deceptive practice that allows congress to pass anything they want as long as they attach it to something important. A rider is a last-minute amendment to one of those necessary bills, preferably slipped into the 154th paragraph where no one will notice. The rider will have nothing to do with the bill. It will be something Congress would never pass and/or the President would never sign if it came through the regular legislative process. It will do a massive favor at public expense to some campaign contributor somewhere, but the damage will be finely calibrated to look insignificant relative to the billion-dollar bill it's riding on. No one will feel like stalling the nation's business just to dust off a few pesky riders.
In short, it's a sneaky, underhanded way of governing. Nearly everyone of both parties does it.
Read the "One Subject at a Time Act", and if you feel like it is a good idea, let your reps know!
Most Americans probably believe a bill has to have majority support in Congress before it can become the law of the land. Sadly, this common sense expectation is totally wrong. Congressional leaders routinely pass laws that a majority opposes. They accomplish this by combining unpopular bills with completely unrelated measures that a majority supports. This legislative shell-game makes a mockery of representative government. I believe every bill should have to stand or fall on its own merits. Toward this end DownsizeDC.org has crafted the "One Subject at a Time Act" (OSTA). Please join me in urging Congress to pass this legislation.
ht tp://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=83
Guys, this bill ends "riders", a deceptive practice that allows congress to pass anything they want as long as they attach it to something important. A rider is a last-minute amendment to one of those necessary bills, preferably slipped into the 154th paragraph where no one will notice. The rider will have nothing to do with the bill. It will be something Congress would never pass and/or the President would never sign if it came through the regular legislative process. It will do a massive favor at public expense to some campaign contributor somewhere, but the damage will be finely calibrated to look insignificant relative to the billion-dollar bill it's riding on. No one will feel like stalling the nation's business just to dust off a few pesky riders.
In short, it's a sneaky, underhanded way of governing. Nearly everyone of both parties does it.
Read the "One Subject at a Time Act", and if you feel like it is a good idea, let your reps know!