"Read The Bills can encourage the use of concise language in bills, help obviate devious practices in law writing, and especially prevent tragedies like the passing of the Patriot Act (unread) from ever happening again." — R.H. El Paso, TX
"If the Bill is too complex for Congress to read; the Law will be too complex for US to obey." — Cory L. San Benito, TX
"Does this bill remain within the limits of law outlined in the U.S. Constitutuon?" — J.F. Churchville, MD
"Let's face it, if you can't even do the basics, you shouldn't be there! Even worse, if the basics are willfully not being done, then something corrupt likely is." — T.B. Sanford, FL
If Congress had to read the bills....
Each would be in English plain,
Short, to the point, without the frills.
Then understanding would be gained!
— C.C. Atlanta, GA
"If you haven't read the bill, you could be doing severe harm to the country, your family and friends by voting yes. Why would you risk that?" — J.D.F. Cocolalla, ID
"I just want to be sure you CAN read." — S.U. Plymouth, MI
"If Congress can pass a bill without READING it, why should the people be held accountable to what it says. After all, to be able to comply with any law, a person would have to—guess what—READ it!" — D.M. Littleton, CO
Use your skills,
to read the bills,
Don't leave it up to chance.
You don't do that now?
Well, holy cow,
What, are you in a trance?
The people are seeing
and tea partying
Look, bud, it's your job.
Read 'em, write em,
don't incite 'em,
Make them a happy mob.
— M.B., Addison, IL
"We need the RTBA because WE are being held responsible for THEIR decisions — financially, physically, politically. Would YOU sign a contract without reading it first?" — M.H. Allyn, WA
"If you delegate your powers of writing, reading, and understanding laws to staffers, why are we paying you?" — D.P. Columbus, OH
"If they don't read the bills how can they represent us?" — V.H. Santa Clara, CA
"I like Read the Bills. It gives the public more time to confirm politicians' promises. And the more time, the better we can catch the lies." — R.R. Martinsville, IN
"It'd be nice if Congress at least pretended to make some effort to understand what they're voting on." — J.A. Tulsa, OK
"The genius of the Read the Bills Act is found in the intrinsic nature of any argument against it. To oppose RTBA is to be a supporter of ignorance, obfuscation, incompetence, deception, and abuse. To attack RTBA would be to attack one's own ability to hold office." — C.M. Agawam, MA
"Lack of prior preparation on your part, like reading the bills, shouldn't constitute a crisis on mine." — C.F. Lovettsville, VA
"Literacy Rocks — Read the Bills!" — S.B. Kansas City, KS
"If a bill passes and no one reads it, is it really a law?" — J.R. Harrisonburg, VA
"The Read the Bills Act guarantees that anyone who has the power to spend my money or affect my life will at least be forced to confront what he or she is actually doing by passing a proposed bill." — B.H. Tujunga, CA
"The Read the Bills Act is like simple common sense advice from your dad... 'Read the fine print before you sign anything! It will end up costing you less in the long run.'" — B.G. Raleigh, NC
"The Read The Bills Act will tear down the wall of words that blocks transparency in congressional legislation." — J.R. Miami, Florida
Read the Bills Act
Before its too late
And prove you can change
— R.S. Boise, ID
"Read the Bills Act is a great idea because it is accessible to any American, regardless of demographic, creed, or political affiliation. It would benefit all American citizens, and it is a simple, precise concept for improving government." — C.M. San Francisco, CA
"My grandfather told me 'Only an idiot would sign a legal document without reading it first.' A congressional bill is a legal document that impacts all of America. Is Congress full of idiots?" — C.T. O'Brien, OR
"If at first you don't succeed, read, read the bills." — J.S. Raytown, MO
"Once Congress passes the Read the Bills Act I am confident they will begin writing shorter and simpler legislation thereby making the laws easier to understand and obey." — L.L. Knoxville, TN
Congress doesn't bother to Read the Bills before they vote. In other words, they're ignorant.
If your attorney “represented” you the way Congress does . . . he'd be disbarred!
Ignorant Legislators
Imagine you're on trial. The charge against you? Violating one of the hundreds of laws Congress passes each year.
You rise in your defense to say, "Your Honor, I didn't know about this law." How will the judge respond?
You already know the answer . . .
The judge will reply, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."
So what's the excuse for your representatives in Congress? Their ignorance is even worse: they don't even read many of the laws they pass!
Many members of Congress understand a concept called "power of attorney" — that an attorney or CPA must not only read, but actually understand the contract they're about to sign on behalf of a client. Should we expect any less from those imposing their views on us by force of law?
Here's a simple but powerful idea: Let's force Congress to read every single one of the laws they pass, before they vote.
Why? Because the federal government is way too big.
- We want to slow the politicians down.
- We want to reduce the size and power of the federal government.
- And we want them to sweat the details — just like you do.
Because . . .
Ignorance is no excuse — even for a Congressman.
Bad Representation
Every so often, the news of this Congressional ignorance leaks out, and we find out it's actually worse than we would've permitted ourselves to consider.
Several days after the Patriot Act was passed, a printed version was made available for Congress to read. Yes, you read that right . . . several days after the Patriot Act was passed!
But that's not unusual. Congress customarily passes bills it has little or no time to read.
What's different in this case is that we heard about it. But how can we claim this shoddy ignorance is routine? Because . . .
We have too many examples to list. But here, for your satisfaction, are a few incidents of . . .
Malpractice!
A few years back, in one of the major establishment newspapers, a Congressman revealed that legislation totaling 2,900 pages and involving more than one trillion dollars in spending was available to members of Congress for less than 48 hours to study and consider.
That's over 60 pages of legislation per hour. Do you think anyone read the entire bill before the vote?
Consider a proposal buried in a 3,200 page, $388 billion bill which would have empowered committee chairmen, or their "agents," to examine Americans' tax returns.
When this horrible provision came to light, no one claimed to know how it got into the bill. One Congressman questioned said, "I didn't write it; I didn't approve it; I wasn't even consulted."
In 2009, Congress passed a stimulus bill. The 1,073 page bill, with an extra 421 page Explanatory Statement, was delivered, still unfinished, at midnight Thursday, Feb 12th.
- The House passed the bill 14 hours and 24 minutes later.
- The Senate did likewise 3 hours and 5 minutes after the House.
- This "stimulus bill" still had handwritten notes in the margins at the time it was passed.
If your attorney represented you this way, he might be disbarred.
Yet this is how Congress "represents" you every day.
Congress cannot claim to be representing us when they don't know what's in the bills they pass.
- They shouldn't take the words of lobbyists.
- They shouldn't rely on unelected staffs, who insert notes in the margins at midnight
- They shouldn't take orders from the party leadership . . .
. . . because, after all, they're supposed to represent you.
That's why DownsizeDC.org has created a bill that should become the law of the land. It's called the Read the Bills Act.
What if . . .
- Members of Congress actually had to read their bill, thoroughly, before they could vote?
- Most of them had to sit and listen to a literal, word for word, in order reading of the entire bill? We know that, "The mind will procure what the hiney will endure." Do you think if they had to sit through a few excruciating readings, that their bills will become shorter, and better focused?
- Before casting their vote — for the new tax, program, or expenditure — they had to sign an affidavit, swearing under penalty of perjury, that they actually read the bill to which they were committing you?
- All bills were posted online for seven days before they were permitted to cast their votes? Some bills are passed in a hurry with NO ONE, aside from some un-elected staff, having any idea what's in the bill. Wouldn't it be better if you could read the bill before the vote? Or a trusted expert was able to review the bill and report back to you, before the vote?
Enter DownsizeDC.org's Read the Bills Act. The Read the Bills Act would require the reading prerequisite, the read-aloud requirement, the affidavit provision, and the online posting obligation.
Parts of the Read the Bills Act have been watered-down and proposed by elected officials from BOTH incumbent parties. But there's only one, gold-standard, Read the Bills Act, and it's been proposed by DownsizeDC.org.
Thanks to DownsizeDC.org, right now, you can tell your elected representatives to sponsor the Read the Bills Act. Just fill out the form to your right. Then, you'll be taken to a page where . . .
- You can read the bill for yourself. It's surprisingly brief — only a few pages.
- You'll be told who your Representative and two Senators are.
- You'll be able to send them a personalized message, delivered in such a proprietary way that each office will know they're hearing from a real, live constituent. And if they know they're hearing from a constituent, they count those messages, and often respond.
- You'll be part of a growing army of Americans who are demanding this bill. That's vital, because Pressure is the only tool regular Americans have to influence Congress.
Act now!
P.S. We can't wait to show you HOW we'll change Congress. Our plan is innovative and dynamic. When you register, I'll send you an email with two tools that will explain our strategy. Register now, and get instant access to these tactical instruments.