The Senate Finance Committee is in the middle of marking up (considering and voting on amendments to) the health care reform bill authored by Senator Max Baucus. Here are two highlights:
First, the committee isn’t even marking up an actual bill. They’re marking up a “conceptual outline” of policy changes, and once they’re done marking up the conceptual changes, final legislative language will be drafted and assembled into bill form. This means nobody really knows what the bill looks like, even though they’re technically amending it.
Second, the proposed 72-hour requirement. Last week, Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky offered an amendment that would have required the committee to make available to the public the final legislative language in complete bill form, along with the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) estimate of what it will cost us, at least 72 hours before these Senators could vote on it. This would have given the Senators and the American people three full days to read the actual bill and consider its cost before the final vote.
It was a call for transparency and openness, but the amendment was defeated by a vote of 11-12. Every Republican voted for it. Every Democrat except Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas voted against it. The justifications for this desision: it would delay the final vote for two to three weeks, “nobody reads the legislative language” because it’s “too arcane” and nobody understands it anyway. Here’s a news report on this:
The committee did pass an amendment that requires the committee to post a “conceptual” version of the final bill, along with the CBO cost estimate. Here’s a good analysis of what happened:
I agree with this analysis. There’s no good reason to hide the legislative language from us. It’s extremely arrogant to assume none of us will read it and that, even if we did, none of us will understand it. And it’s elitist — they don’t think we’re smart enough to supervise and oversee the work of ”experts” and “wise” rulers. The only rational explanation is this: the devil’s in the details and they don’t want us to see the details before the vote because they know it will spark mass opposition.
The defeat of this amendment was a defeat for transparency, openness and honesty in the legislative process. It’s a slap in our face for we hire and pay the salaries of these Senators, and we have to live under they laws they write.
We should not allow this type of behavior any longer.
We the People are Sovereigns, not subjects. Let’s start acting like it.
It’s time to let our elected leaders know, in clear and certain but simple terms, that we are the superiors and they are our employees. They need to start serving us. Right now. They better start fearing us. Right now. If they refuse, let’s clean house in November 2010.
This is a time for bold action. Let’s take the power back and exercise sufficient control over those entrusted with the powers of our government. Start by helping to shape the EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
JOIN US. CONTROL GOVERNMENT. BE FREE AND INDEPENDENT.
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