Rand Paul wants to make his fellow senators actually read the health care bill before they vote
June 23, 2017 in News by RBN Staff
Source: Rare
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) reintroduced his notable “Read the Bills” resolution on Wednesday, which would require bills and amendments to be filed for a minimum of one day for every twenty pages before they can be considered.
The resolution would allow members of Congress sufficient time to thoroughly review legislation, while leaving lawmakers room to act during times of emergency. Paul previously introduced the resolution in 2015.
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The minimum time would only be waived by “an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members.”
“Legislation is too often shoved through Congress without proper hearings, amendments, or debate, as the secrecy surrounding the Senate’s healthcare bill and the pressure to vote for it with little time to fully evaluate the proposal once again remind us,” Paul’s press release reads. “If we are to answer to the American people, it is imperative we pay close attention to the legislation we pass.”
“I stand by my pledge to increase transparency and accessibility in the U.S. Senate,” he added, “and my resolution will give members ample time to read all legislation before they vote.”
A full copy of Senator Paul’s resolution can be read here.
In an op-ed published with Rare earlier this month, Paul expressed his frustration at conservatives trying to rush legislation through without regard to promises previously made to the voters, especially with regards to Obamacare.
I remember in the good old days when Republicans were not in favor of new taxes or new subsidies or dictates on how much insurance a person should buy. But that was a long time ago when the Tea Party stoked the nation’s consciousness, and the GOP rose to capture all three branches of government.
We are told, ‘we must govern.’ To many Republicans, that somehow means we should abandon precisely the philosophy that brought us into power. Curious and disappointing it is to so quickly forget what was promised the voter.
I ran at the height of the rising Tea Party movement, and I promised to vote to repeal Obamacare,” he continued. “I didn’t promise to replace it with slightly less Obamacare. I promised to repeal it. Scolds from the House now say we ran on the Ryan plan to replace Obamacare with slightly less Obamacare. Not true!
RELATED: Rand Paul: We should repeal Obamacare like Republicans promised, not just “fix” it
I really think the voters believe we ran on repealing Obamacare. I pledged to replace Obamacare with the freedom to buy inexpensive insurance, to save tax free to help purchase healthcare, and to be free to join a group to get discounted health insurance. I most assuredly did not run on replacing Obamacare with Obamacare-lite.
Paul along with Senators Mike Lee and potentially Ted Cruz are seen as the three conservatives who will not vote for a bill that retains some of the more controversial aspects of Obamacare.