According to U. S. News & World Report, there have been some real challenges for congressmen who actually wanted to read the stimulus bill before they voted on it. The congressmen got their copies of the 999 page bill at eleven o'clock last night. According to the article:
"What's more, staffers are complaining about who does have a copy: K Street lobbyists. E-mails one key Democratic staffer: "K Street has the bill, or chunks of it, already, and the congressional offices don't. So, the Hill is getting calls from the press (because it's leaking out) asking us to confirm or talk about what we know--but we can't do that because we haven't seen the bill. Anyway, peeps up here are sort of a combo of confused and like, 'Is this really happening?'" Reporters pressing for details, meanwhile, are getting different numbers from different offices, especially when seeking the details of specific programs."
I guess my question is, "Why did the bill go to lobbyists before it went to Senate staffers?" This bill is such a nightmare that I don't think any of us have a clue as to how much damage it will do to America and the American economy. Where is the transparency we were promised? And where is a congressman's sense of responsibility if he is willing to vote on a bill he hasn't read?
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