Who Actually Read the Bill?

“As the House prepares to pass a trillion dollar, 1,603-page ‘cromnibus Thursday, at least one criticism can be applied to both Republicans and Democrats when the bill comes to a vote: few lawmakers — if any — will have read the entire thing,” Roll Call reports.

“It’s not that a $1.1 trillion piece of legislation can — or should — be written in 140 characters like a tweet, or as a 4,543-word document, such as the Constitution. But the cromnibus, coming in at 289,861 words, represents a particularly challenging public relations moment for members of Congress. It’s precisely the style of legislating that Speaker John A. Boehner ran against when he campaigned for the leadership job, vowing to give members at least 72 hours to read any measure before a vote. And it’s the manifestation of the proverbial backroom deals that have angered so many voters for so long.”