As the November election approaches, it is tempting to believe that we can simply “throw the bums out” to make everything right in Washington. Unfortunately for America, the root of our political trouble is much deeper than a Republican Congress that has been in power a few terms too long.
Putting these people out of jobs may flush the toilet, so to speak, but it’s not going to stop the next Congress from leaving more steaming floaters for us to deal with next January.
The legislative process itself - the unwritten laws of doing business in Washington - are untouched by a change of party. The powerbrokers may be new, the channels of influence flowing through different K Street offices, but the culture of patronage remains intact.
The fate of a bill still depends not on its implications for American society but on the personalities of its proponents. Good law cannot be produced by such a system because legislators have no incentive to pay attention to the text of the bills they pass. In fact, they couldn’t even if they wanted to.
Congress frequently resorts to the use of omnibus bills that are hundreds of pages long, contain amendments added without debate, and remain unavailable in final form to rank-and-file member and the public until after the voting is done.
It should be no surprise that these votes split along party lines and that the bills themselves are incoherent, vague, and riddled with custom made loopholes and special appropriations.
Regardless of party affiliation, Americans can unite behind initiatives that make the legislative process more transparent and that compel Congressmen to review the laws they pass. Only clear and unambiguous legislative reform can return Congress to its rightful place as a respected deliberative and representative body.
To this end, an organization called Downsize DC has drafted a proposal for a new law called the “Read the Bills Act.” This bill would require that each piece of legislation, with all its amendments, must be read aloud to a quorum of physically assembled Congressmen. This would also apply to all bills up for renewal and to the full text of bills being amended. In addition, the final text of the bills along with the list of members in attendance for their reading would be published on the websites of the House and Senate for public review one week before a scheduled vote.
This delay would allow time for careful consideration of new legislation and for the public to voice its concerns before bills become law. It would also make it more difficult to pass the convoluted and nonsensical bills that currently tie up legions of lawyers and judges in a vain attempt to determine what exactly Congress intended.
The only intention I can make out from today’s Congress is the intention to look busy when election time rolls around. Well, the act isn’t working.
As President Bush tells us, “We are a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws.” Fair enough, but that old saying would be much more comforting if somebody, somewhere could tell us what those laws are.
