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Home Front: Politix
Democratic Senator Predicts None of His Colleagues 'Will Have the Chance' to Read Final Stimulus Bill Before Vote
2009-02-13
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) predicted on Thursday that none of his Senate colleagues would "have the chance" to read the entire final version of the $790-billion stimulus bill before the bill comes up for a final vote in Congress.

"No, I don't think anyone will have the chance to [read the entire bill]," Lautenberg told CNSNews.com.

The final bill, crafted by a House-Senate conference committee, was posted on the Website of the House Appropriations Committe late Thurday in two PDF files.

The first PDF was 424 pages long and the second PDF was 575 pages long, making the total bill 999 pages long. The House is expected to vote on this 999-page bill Friday, and the Senate either later Friday or Saturday. [Editor's note: The first PDF, as posted on the House Appropriations Committee website as of 8:20 AM Friday morning, had grown by 72 pages to 496 pages, increasing the length of the total document to 1,071 pages.]

Of the several senators that CNSNews.com interviewed on Thursday, only Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) claimed to have read the entire bill--and he was speaking of the preliminary version that had been approved by the Senate, not the final 999-page version that the House-Senate conference committee was still haggling over on Thursday afternoon.

When CNSNews.com asked members of both parties on Capitol Hill on Thursday whether they had read the full, final bill, not one member could say, "Yes."
Posted by:Fred

#5  this is a letter a fellow constituent of mine sent to our Rep who read it in congress and then voted No on the stimulus package.

Dear Congressman McCotter,
I spoke with you on WJR Friday morning and want to thank you for your kindness
and patience. I couldnÂ’t get out everything I wanted to say because of my
frustration. I would love to talk before Congress and the Senate. I would like to
talk to them about the deplorable, reprehensible, and egregious waste they are
considering with our tax dollars. IÂ’m sorry this is long, but I want them to see what
I see.
The wasteful spending they are considering is unconscionable to me. And I
would like to ask them a few questions.
You see, I just lost my job. The company I worked for is eliminating 700 sales
positions nationwide, about 15 will be affected in Michigan.
I would like to ask the Congress and Senate if they know what itÂ’s like to sit at the
dinner table and tell your 11 year old daughter that she canÂ’t get a school
yearbook because we need the money to buy groceries. And the stimulus
package wants to give $4 Billion to ACORN, a company, I believe, that is under
investigation for voter registration fraud. What jobs are they creating?
Do they know what itÂ’s like to see the tears in your wifeÂ’s eyes when you tell her
the conference call you were on just eliminated your position? And the stimulus
package wants to spend $335 million on STD prevention? What jobs does that
create?
Do they know what it feels like to tell your father in law that the daughter I
married and promised to provide for that you just lost your job? And Barack
Obama spends money on overseas abortions. And then says we need to end the
politics of this issue. If he believed that he wouldnÂ’t have done it, his decision was
nothing but political. What jobs in the U.S. does that create?
Do they know what it feels like to return the shirts you just bought for work, on
clearance, because you really needed new shirts and now you donÂ’t even have a
job? And Congress is taking an extra $93,000 each for petty cash increases. And
WE are told to cut back on our spending? When I told my 7 year old son we had
to make cuts he just wanted to know if we could still have our Sunday morning
treat of a donut before we go to church. ThatÂ’s all he wanted. I said weÂ’d try our
best. WeÂ’ve made sacrifices but you havenÂ’t.
And do you know how it feels when you hear that companies given bail out
money from TARP funds gave $18 Billion in bonuses? IÂ’m wondering if I have
enough money to pay my bills for 2 months. All they get is a mild rebuke from
Washington saying, “You shouldn’t do that in these tough economic times.” They
are an embarrassment. They should be forced to give back the $18 Billion with
interest and penalties.
Do they know what itÂ’s like to speak with someone who was in tears over losing
their job because they think theyÂ’ll lose their house? How about the always
upbeat guy who sounded depressed that he could lose his house because he
just lost his job? And yet the stimulus package is loaded with pork.
Do you know what itÂ’s like to have another coworker lose their job and are
worried their spouseÂ’s could be next? And this stimulus package wants $400
Million for HIV prevention. How does that create jobs?
Do they know how fearful it is to turn your heat down at night to 59 degrees and
65 in the day when your child is asthmatic and it can flare up from the cold? We
canÂ’t afford to raise our heat and the stimulus package wants to spend $75
Million on anti smoking ads. How does that create jobs?
By the way thatÂ’s $810 Million for pet projects. I have an idea stop having sex
until your married and quit smoking! ThereÂ’s your awareness program, that didnÂ’t
cost a dime. If they donÂ’t know by now they donÂ’t care.
The insults you pay to our auto executives when they ask for and interest bearing
LOAN by asking them how they flew here. But when the banking industry
seemingly makes a few phone calls they have $350 Billion given to them and we
donÂ’t even know where it went, except for the $18 Billion.
Do they know about the guy I just met whose entire company just took 20% pay
cuts so they wouldnÂ’t have to lay off employees? And this stimulus bill wants
Million for sod on the new mall thatÂ’s already $600 million over budget. How
is that creating jobs?
Recent polls show that less than 50% of Americans approve of this stimulus bill
and yet Congress, with their recent 11% approval rating, the worst in history, tries
to ram this bill down our throats. The send it to the Democratic Senate and tell us
they know whatÂ’s best for our country. According to that 11%, I guess. Congress
is supposed to govern for the people and not for themselves and yet when less
than 50% approve of a plan they approve it anyway.
Why doesnÂ’t the Senate have the guts to reject the pork spending portions of this
bill and start over? Why donÂ’t you get off your Ivory tower, pork barrel, ear
marked, pet project behinds and do what we need of you?
Congressman McCotter, thatÂ’s what IÂ’d like to say to the Senate. I would gladly
go before them so they can hear what itÂ’s like in the real world.
Sincerely,

Greg from Milford
Posted by: Unens McGurque aka Broadhead6   2009-02-13 21:04  

#4  You can if it's made searchable, Last.

Sometimes I ask the IT people to make a large one searchable if I need to use it a lot. I don't know what they do, but it comes back searchable.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2009-02-13 19:11  

#3  Ya know ya can't word search a pdf file. heh
Posted by: Last Breath Farm Resident   2009-02-13 17:00  

#2  Unless they read at about 620 words per minute. Ask your local friendly lobbyist, got a copy before any pol did. heh
Posted by: Last Breath Farm Resident   2009-02-13 16:58  

#1  Not much new here. Congresspeople seldom bother to read the stuff they pass, this has been the case for years now.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2009-02-13 14:14  

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