Senate GOP Trying to Slow Democrats Down

By Family Research Council , Defending Faith, Family and Freedom - October 08, 2009

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Good reform comes to those who wait--or so says a frustrated group of Republicans and Democrats. In the Senate, where liberals are literally pushing bills through the chamber faster than leaders can write them, one coalition has said "enough!" Senator Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) doesn't agree with his colleague from North Dakota, Senator Kent Conrad (D), who said last week, "Anybody who thinks that (the health care bill) is going to be transparent to the American people is really not telling it like it is."

In an effort to prove him wrong, Senator Bunning introduced a resolution today that would require a modest 72-hour waiting period before his chamber can vote on a bill. He tried to pass a similar constraint in the Senate Finance Committee last week but failed by a razor-thin margin. Under his measure, the leadership would be forced to post its bills online and give the American public (and Congress) three whole days to review them.

Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), the only Democrat to vote with the GOP in favor of Bunning's original resolution, is piling on with a push for her leadership to do the same. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (signed by seven other Democrats), she makes an appeal for greater openness in this process. "As their democratically-elected representatives...it is our duty to listen to [the people's] concerns and provide them with the chance to respond to proposals that will impact their lives."

But not every Democrat wants to include voters in the legislative process. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) accused Republicans of stalling the debate. "They dream up new ways to slow things down every week," he said. Interestingly enough, this push for greater transparency didn't originate with Republicans--but the President. As recently as last winter, "no more secrecy" was a cornerstone of Barack Obama's campaign. He promised, if elected, that the public would have five days to review and comment on any piece of non-emergency legislation before he signed it. Since then, the White House has essentially said, "define transparency." Now that Congress is trying, the Left wants no part of it.

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OPINION:Senate GOP Trying to Slow Democrats Down

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  • LagerHead
    Declining support=increased speed

    The more support for these bill goes down, the faster the supporters want them voted on, the less they want the public to see them, and the less likely they are to read them.

    It seems to me if you have to be that damn shady to get your bill passed, maybe, just maybe, it's not the right thing to do in the first place.

    - LagerHeadUS October 8, 2009 11:33AM

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    • Submariner
      I agree.

      And it drives me nuts how much time they spend commiteeizing the bureaucracy before even getting to the bill.

      They should spend a couple days before session to establish procedure, and stick to that for the session. I know this stuff is complicated, but jeesh, is it against the law to get something done already?

      If the Democrats were not so weak they would have had a universal system enacted by now.

      As is the whole lot have either given up, gotten lost or pimped themselves out to an insurance company already, and none of them have the temerity to actually tax what this costs.

      - Submariner October 8, 2009 11:28PM

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    • Super Expert
      Just Exactly Who is The Family Research Council?

      I just made a long call to the Family Research Council in Washington DC, I was interested in possibly supporting them, I agree on many of the positions they claim to represent. I am setting here very disappointed, to use mild comparisons they appear to be modern day Pharisees and Sadducees. For you non Christians they may be people who have hidden motives and are not who they claim to be. It is impossible to determine who or where there funding comes from. For all we know they could be funded by interests in China who wish to have much more control over the USA. The Fact is we just don’t know who the money comes from or if they have hidden motives. Do any of you know exactly who there money comes from? Please don’t use the Evangelical Council as a resource to find more on this subject, you will get only general meaningless data from them. How about it Family Research Council, give us a list of your top twenty contributors and there amounts.

      - Super ExpertUS October 21, 2009 2:18PM

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  • caelum
    Secracy

    How can a bill be secret when it's available online through the Library of Congress any time someone wants to read it? I can already read the Baucus Bill online, I had it on my screen earlier =/

    These things take forever without any waiting period. You can't write hundreds and hundreds of pages in a day, get it through chambers / committee, and vote on it that day with the president signing it into law that afternoon. Unless you are voting on naming a post-office or something.

    I don't personally care about this issue, if I were a senate democrat, I'd just give this bone to republicans since it's rather trivial and stupid.

    - caelumUS October 8, 2009 11:43AM

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