Yesterday I posted about an idea I'd like to see adopted whereby legislators would have to iniital each page in a bill to affirm that they had read it and understood what was being proposed on each page. This is just like we do with sales contracts - no difference - except the stakes.
Taking that idea a step farther, I have another suggestion.
When someone proposes a bill - Waxman, Kennedy, Smith, Jones, or whomever - before they are allowed to have their name associated with the bill as a sponsor, the bill must be typed up in draft form, they must read every word of it - making corrections as necessary, they must attest to its accuracy in writing as to being what they intend to propose and support - after the edits have been made and typos fixed, and they must be able to answer questions, explain, and defend what they have proposed to rest of the body. Then and only then will their name appear as a sponsor.
They same would hold true for all co-sponsors of a bill.
By the way, a bill would need to have a sponsor, so an anoymous bill couldn't skate through by circumventing these provisions.
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Steve - I don't think we will really ever be able to force a politician to take responsibility for his or her bills and votes. Take a look at a myriad of bills and the strategy is pretty simple. It goes like this: I support energy conservation. Great, we all do. I support Bill X. Well, I don't support all of Bill X. Well, I voted for amendments to Bill X (knowing that they would never pass). Well, I voted to improve Bill X. What I am trying to say is pretty simple - without single subject bills, you will never have accountability. Between procedural votes, amendments, etc., there are opportunities to say you supported an issue while voting against it. When public sentiment changes, you can say you had concerns and voted to correct flaws in the bill. If this flim flam doesn't work, say these magic words - "I didn't have an opportunity to read the bill, relied on staffers... but don't we all want to protect the Earth."
If an agent sells a home without making sure the buyer or seller know what they're signing, the agent can have complaints filed against them, sued or sanctioned by the board or commission.
We are mired in such strong party politics, the Congresspersons can admit that they didn't read the bill they vote for and there is not a thing anyone can do about it, except vote them out next election day, which rarely happens.
Ryan,
Your response would be the perfect lead-in as why this is so out-of-control and so ridiculous. It likely has been this way in some form for years, but now we are on to them. Good time for a change of policy. :)
Steve
These folks in Washington are puppets with the one pulling the strings being special interests. Responsibility...is that in the job description?
Lenn,
I'm definitely with you on this. Would love nothing more than to see a bunch of out-of-work politicians. But that would be sad too, because many of them have never done any real work and would have trouble getting hired. :)
Steve
Steve - What a bold idea! Politicians accountable for their actions. Wonder why THEY never thought of that.
Darn - I was hoping the title reflected some little bit of reality. Another great idea, Steve, therefore, destined to be shit canned circular filed.
Not to worry.
They have a sufficiency of quid-pro-quoes with lobbiests to have paved the way for a very secure life after congress.
John,
Right. Can't count on them for reform. It needs to come from us. :)
Steve
Mike,
I would love for the title to have reflected something proactive they had done. :)
Steve
Lenn,
You're absolutely right. They'll do fine. What was I thinking? :)
Steve
Good points. What's fair is fair.
Kenneth,
Thanks. Why do we expect so much less from our leaders than we demand from ourselves and those we work with? :)
Steve
Hi Steve
I like the idea that the sponsor and co-sponsors of the bill signs off on each page of the bill ( I've been doing that for years with contracts).
How about the Representativessign signing a statement that they read the bill before they voted on it.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
Lou,
Precisely. If you don't sign off on the bill - which means it has to be published and available prior to hearings and debate - you don't get to vote on it. :)
Steve
Gary,
As the electorate, it's time we put some of that responsibility back into the job. We can do it. :)
Steve
Steve,
I totally agree, they should be held accountable just as we are, lawyers are, medical professionals and the like. I would like to see this in the Realtor(r) group, and also the Lawyer group...shall I re-blog to them for you?
I really appreciate you proposal. I have been saying term limits for a very long time.
Darrell,
This proposal would serve to weed out some people who find the new rules too cumbersome for their liking. :)
Steve
I like it Steve, I heard the excuse, to many times, in the last six months, that I voted for it, but no one could read the entire bill in question... BULL! If you don't read it, each page, don't sign it. You get paid to read it...
Paul,
That's the spirit. Maybe we could do back and nullify every vote that was cast out of ignorance. :)
Steve
Karen,
Thank you. Whatever you think will help get people talking about such "bold" concepts. :)
Steve