Your congressmen are doing a couple of things that you should be aware of. And these two items I am going to highlight really illustrate the problem with our representatives today.
The first concerns the amount of time that the health care bill will be available online for the public to review before a vote is taken. Reps. Brian Baird, D-Wash., and Greg Walden, R-Ore., are circulating a petition among House lawmakers that would force a vote on the 72-hour rule. Amazingly Democratic leadership is fighting this petition and discouraging their members from signing it. Almost all Republicans have already signed it, but a scarce number of Democrats have done the same. The Senate rejected a similar measure by vote a couple of weeks ago. What exactly are they scared of? An informed public perhaps? This is a common sense measure that will not only ensure that the public has a chance to see what is being pushed upon us, but will also give ample time for our representatives to read what they are voting for. Not a single member of Congress read the Stimulus bill in its entirety before voting. There was not physically enough time for them to do so. The House Cap and Trade bill was only online 15 hours before the vote. Six days is by no means an unreasonable amount of time to allow the public to read and digest legislation. The only reason to fight this is if there is something to hide.
The second incident concerns House Ways and Means chairman Charlie Rangel. The House just voted (246-153) to retain Rangel as the committee chairman. Six Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting the tax cheat Rangel. Among them was our own Ron Paul. Maybe he thought it was unconstitutional to vote out a corrupt committee chairman. For those that do not know, Rangel has underreported more than $1 million on legally required financial disclosure forms since 2001, did not pay taxes on an investment property (was allowed to pay back taxes of $10,000 with no penalties or interest), and is under investigation for more tax evasion. Many of us remember Republican Senator Ted Stevens. He was forced out of office because he did not report $250,000 in gifts and home renovations and would have gone to jail if it were not for a technicality. Now with the Democrats double standard, Rangel will not even have to give up his chairman position. Amazing.
These are some of the simple problems with Congress that those in office are refusing to address. There are much greater problems that these same people are supposed to fix. Namely the economy and health care. I do not know about you, but it does not give me much confidence. Combine this with a hypocritical President and it seems all hope is lost. At least for now.
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