[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22399]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRESS NEEDS TIME TO READ BILLS

  (Mr. WALDEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call my colleagues to join 
me and Congressman Brian Baird and Congressman Culberson in signing a 
discharge petition to change the rules of the House so that Members of 
Congress have at least 72 hours to read bills like this.
  This is the so-called stimulus. We had 12 hours. Now, the Speaker has 
said we will all have 24 hours. We are asking for 72. The stimulus was 
1,073 pages, $787 billion.
  This is the cap-and-tax bill, 16\1/2\ hours to digest it, 1,428 
pages, $846 billion.
  We should have a chance to read these bills and understand them. 
Congressman Baird and about 90 of us are cosponsors of H.R. 544. It's 
time to bring it to the floor for a vote. Sign the discharge petition.
  Let's bring sunshine into the process. Let's allow Americans, their 
Representatives and the press the time to read these bills before we 
have to vote on them here on the House floor.

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