House Passes the 1,200-page Climate Bill that Congress was not allowed to read
Despite heated objections by some Republicans, the unread 1,200-page Waxman-Markey climate bill was passed 219-212 in the House on Friday. Final roll call votes are listed here. Objecting to the fact that 300 pages were added to the bill at 3 a.m., Minority leader John Boehner attempted a brief filibuster, giving time for colleagues and aides to scan the unread extra passages and present certain excerpts on the floor. Politico blasts his effort, reporting:
Shockingly, co-sponsor Henry Waxman objected to Boehner's reading the bill on the House floor, and tried to prevent it on procedural grounds so that is contents would remain unknown and no one would shift support or delay the bill's passage. Passing "laws" in secret is not law at all - it is tyranny, and it is shameful:
Politico reports that Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) raised questions about whether "there was even a copy of the current version of the bill anywhere in the House chamber."
Remarkably, Ed Markey, one of the bill's co-sponsors, rose to report that a copy was only available at the speaker's desk or online, which Politico reports, would require members "to leave the floor to access." Rep. Michele Bachmann stated plainly that the bill was "a choice between liberty and tyranny," claiming that the bill institute "control over nearly every aspect in the lives of the American people" and advocating the Forbes amendment. House Passes Landmark Climate Bill WSJ | June 26, 2009 7:31 PM EST WASHINGTON - Landmark legislation to curb U.S. greenhouse gas emissions was approved by the House of Representatives in a close vote late Friday, securing a hard-fought victory for a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's agenda. The 1,200 page bill - formally known as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act" - will reach into almost every corner of the U.S. economy. By putting a price on emissions of common gases, such as carbon dioxide, the bill would affect the way electricity is generated, how homes and offices are designed, how foreign trade is conducted and how much Americans pay to drive or to heat their homes. |
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