Is it reasonable to expect the peoples’ representatives to at least read the bills they vote on and pass, let alone comprehend them? Jimmie at The Sundries Shack has done the math:
Let’s start with two generous assumptions: that the bill remains at 1,434 pages, and it gets in the hands of your member of Congress at 8 PM. Let’s also assume that there are about 350 words on each page
In order for anyone to read the entire bill in 13 hours, they’d have to start the very minute they got it and read over 1.8 pages a minute every minute, without a break. They’ll be clocking in at a reading speed of 640.5 words per minute at that rate. If anyone needs a potty break, they’d better take the bill with them. Forget eating.
By comparison, the average human reads about 200-400 wpm if “reading for comprehension”. You only hit 640 wpm if you’re skimming the text (and the top end average skimming rate is 700 wpm and the comprehension rate drops dramatically).
Now, let’s face it, it’s not exactly unheard of for legislators to vote on legislation they haven’t read, but usually there is at least time for their staffers to get a gander at it.
This is the biggest political travesty of my lifetime, and (unfortunately) I’m no spring chicken. Which of my commenters is going to attempt to defend this?
[Friday Update]
Hope! And Change!
It stands to reason that perhaps the most basic obligation members of Congress have is to know what they are voting for. And this is doubly true on a spending bill of this unprecedented magnitude. It’s also worth noting that President Obama campaigned on pushing for explicit transparency measures in Congress. John Dickerson at Slate helpfully pointed out what Change.gov says about legislative transparency:
End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed Doors: As president, Barack Obama will restore the American people’s trust in their government by making government more open and transparent. Obama will work to reform congressional rules to require all legislative sessions, including committee mark-ups and conference committees, to be conducted in public.
Just a few weeks in office, and we already have the President enabling and encouraging one of the least transparent processes imaginable to muscle through an $800 billion spending bill. Does the administration think this amounts to change, or should I wait for them to get their new website, worsethanever.gov, up and running?
I guess we’ll just have to wait. I guess it was “just words.” Just like the words about “going through bills, line by line, and eliminating wasteful spending.” Anything to get elected.
Have these people no shame?
[Bumped]
Well, I don’t think you need to read it to vote no.
OK, I’ll defend it.
It is an excellent way of sequestering carbon.
/* end defense
Ha! Well done Carl!
Which of my commenters is going to attempt to defend this?
I probably can’t top Carl’s answer, but here’s my attempt. There are 435 representatives in congress. If there is going to be a straight party-line vote on the bill, then the representatives can safely divide the labor amongst themselves. 1,434 pages / 435 representatives means each representative need only read 3 and 1/3 pages, which is doable. Each representative can then report to the committee of the whole on how they would vote for their 3.333 pages. If a Democrat reports favorably, the other Democrats can assume they would also approve, and the Republicans can assume they would disapprove; and vice versa. Since a Blue Dog Democrat might not really trust Dennis Kucinich’s judgment, and so forth, the representatives might further sub-divide themselves and end up reading maybe 9 or 10 pages, just to be safe.
According to a member of my states congressional delegation, the bill was released about 11:30pm last night, without announcement. The pdf copy has handwritten notes.
Nancy Pelosi leaves for Rome at 6pm.
There is 90 minutes allowed for debate.
So Bonus! 17 hours.
I’ll take a “present” or “no” vote.
According to what I recall reading in P.J. O’Rourke’s Parliament of Whores, legislators don’t have any time to read these bills — staffers read them and then break them down into summaries on index cards.
Then they run the text on the index cards through http://www.lexile.com, Andrea, so they can make sure they’re on a Congressman’s reading level.
See Spot run. See Dick curse. Dick needs a new leash for Spot. But Dick is poor. Dick can’t work because Dick is sad. Congress can help! Jane works even when Jane is sad. Jane is rich. See Congress run. See Congress take Jane’s money and give it to Dick. Good Congress! Good Dick! Good Spot! Forget Jane, the whiny selfish bitch.
(Channeling the Democrats in congress, I rise in defense of the stimulus bill.) Look, we already know we’re right on this. So why waste time on pointless debate? I mean, sure, normally we’d go through the ritual of letting the Republicans air all their petty, partisan, wrong-headed talking points, but this bill is too important for that. Besides, that’s the old politics. In the new, more pragmatic age, we’re not going to waste the people’s time and money on sham debates when we already know we’re right. It’s time for Republicans to start thinking more bipartisan: shut up and get in line!
From Instapundit, Change.gov (emphasis Obama’s):
End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed Doors: As president, Barack Obama will restore the American people’s trust in their government by making government more open and transparent. Obama will work to reform congressional rules to require all legislative sessions, including committee mark-ups and conference committees, to be conducted in public. By making these practices public, the American people will be able to hold their leaders accountable for wasteful spending and lawmakers won’t be able to slip favors for lobbyists into bills at the last minute.
Really, I don’t know how the Executive Branch has any control over this, but apparently Obama/Biden thought they would. Regardless, it’s a change that didn’t happen with his election.
But here’s one Glenn missed (emphasis Obama’s):
Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.
So, will he wait 5 days to sign?
I apologize Rand, missed your update.
As Leland notes, the President can’t actually decide how Congress does its business, but I hope he will use his influence to persuade Reid and Pelosi to make the legislative process more transparent.
And I hope he’ll keep the 5 day promise for non-emergency bills. Did he wait to sign S-CHIP, or the Lilly Ledbetter bill? If not he deserves to be criticized loudly, and I’m happy to join in the chorus. [I can see calling the stimulus bill an emergency measure, so I’d give him a bit of latitude there.]
“Now, let’s face it, it’s not exactly unheard of for legislators to vote on legislation they haven’t read, but usually there is at least time for their staffers to get a gander at it.”
Sheesh. Usually? More sheesh. This is after years of Republican legislation that was very often never even given to their Democratic counterparts until just before the vote. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
You read the parts that you understand, obviously, and for such a huge bill, just as obviously, there is a whole lot a given legislator can’t be expected to understand.
You have made an allegation of fact. Please substantiate.
No, of course they hae no shame. They’re politicians. The world’s second oldest profession, and a good deal less honourable than the oldest.
Of course, these days politicians have lots of competition for the bottom slot; lawyers, accountants, certain sorts of priests, and as a later addition – bankers.
Hope and Change – everything is a dire emergency, so it is business as usual.
Did he wait to sign S-CHIP, or the Lilly Ledbetter bill?
No.