Dashing To Protect Transparency In Government

Generally speaking, Congress is totally out of control. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the Democrats or Republicans are in charge, Congress is out of control.

Yesterday mrctv posted an article explaining how some unpopular bills are getting through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The article explains:

Most Congressional bills are passed in a nearly empty chamber, and Massie (Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)) explained to the Young Americans for Liberty at the University of Cincinnatimembers of Congress like to use voice votes to pass unpopular bills.

There’s two reasons Congress loves the voice vote: the first is that because there’s no record of who voted, they can’t be held accountable when the bill passes.

The second reason is that Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) has sole discretion to decide if there is a “quorum” (218 congressmen) present in the room sufficient to take a voice vote. Massie says frequently there’s only ten congressmen present. All Boehner has to do is squint and say that there’s a quorum present and he may hold a voice vote.

As long as no one requests a recorded vote, Boehner is free to do this.

Congressman Massie explains that the distance between his office and the House of Representatives floor is about 500 yards. When Speaker of the House Boehner begins a voice vote, Congressman Massie dashes down the hall and demands a recorded vote. A recorded vote requires an actual quorum. Congressman Massie’s actions have stopped some bills in their tracks. I wish we had more Congressmen willing to stand up for the American people.