From the Washington Times

Trying to capitalize on voters’ anger at lawmakers this summer, Republicans on Wednesday launched bids in both the House and Senate aiming to force Democrats to let them have at least three days to read bills before they’re put up for a vote.

In the House, Rep. Greg Walden, Oregon Republican, filed a petition to force a vote on a bill with bipartisan backing that would require all non-emergency legislation to be posted online, in its final form, 72 hours prior to a vote.

“At my public meetings and events, people always want to know, ‘Have you read these bills? Why don’t they give you time to read these bills?’ ” Mr. Walden said. “Members of Congress, the public, and the press all deserve the time to read these bills before we have to vote on them on the House floor.”

Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee, meanwhile, defeated a GOP amendment requiring a 72-hour waiting period and a full cost estimate before the final committee vote on the proposed health care overhaul bill now being considered by the panel.

Only one Democrat – Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas – voted for the measure, which would have delayed a vote on the final bill for about two weeks in order to allow the Congressional Budget Office to complete its analysis on the cost and implications of the legislation. Instead, the panel passed an alternative amendment that would require the committee to post the full bill online in “conceptual” rather than legal language, as well as a CBO cost estimate.

The minority party accusing the majority of rushing bills through Congress is nothing new. But Democrats have attracted special attention this year with a series of last-minute votes on bills that exceed more than 1,000 pages.

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