Congress Refuses to Read Bills Before Voting

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

So, following that thought, do you classify Medicare, Medicaid and the medical services of the Veterans Administration as wrong and they should not exist?

They should exist. Veterans Admin is a different animal altogether, completely unrelated to welfare.

And along that line, the government probably should have never gotten involved in overseeing voting procedures in individual states or in saying which kids should go to what schools but because of so many abuses in the past they had to.

Voting is covered in the Constitution. Schools is a states right issue which the Fed gov has no business being involved in.

I'm tired of the argument that a right to health care does not exist in the US Constitution. When the Constitution was ratified the average life expectancy was quite low for the colonists, many children (and birth mothers) died at birth or not long after and doctors were still using leaches and other barbaric practices to treat many ailments.

Doesn't change the fact that in this country there is still no Constitutional right to health care.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Pelosi planed that you would have that response. Along with all the other apathetic Americans.

I'm an apathetic American? Really? I mean, sure I'm complacent and self-indulgent, but where's my enormous car, and stockpile of automatic weapons?

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Then after the straight dope is obtained from the staff, it is balanced against the booty offered by lobbyists, the pressure from the party whip, and how long to the next re-election campaign.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Except for the "straight dope" from the staff ...

Originally Posted by richlevy

In the case of the anti-musician bill, the legislative aide who inserted the amendment was hired by the recording industry.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Government should not run Banks, Auto Companies, or Insurance industries either. Nor should they be in charge of your health care.

To late....

The government is not running auto companies or banks or insurance companies. They are, however, trying to lookout for OUR interests in those companies, since taxpayers have had to bail them out.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

They should exist. Veterans Admin is a different animal altogether, completely unrelated to welfare...

Medicare is NOT welfare, NOR is it FREE. We all pay into the Medicare system through taxes that are taken out of our paychecks, then, once we qualify for Medicare (through age or disability), we still have to pay premiums and copays and 20% of whatever else is involved. In what way is that at all "welfare?"

[sugarpop]

I want them to write a bill that forces them to write bills that ONLY PERTAIN to the subject at hand. No more off-topic legislation being slipped in at the last minute that has nothing to do with the original bill. AND they should be written in plain, concise language that anyone can understand, and be as brief as possible while still covering everything completely. No more subterfuge. There is no reason why a bill should have to be 1000+ pages. Most novels aren't that long.

[Glinda]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

I want them to write a bill that forces them to write bills that ONLY PERTAIN to the subject at hand. No more off-topic legislation being slipped in at the last minute that has nothing to do with the original bill. AND they should be written in plain, concise language that anyone can understand, and be as brief as possible while still covering everything completely. No more subterfuge. There is no reason why a bill should have to be 1000+ pages. Most novels aren't that long.

I'm willing to bet that most Americans feel this way. I am, however, unwilling to hold my breath waiting for it to happen.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Why could you possibly think a law regulating dog walkers, or the acceptable number of rat droppings in ice cream, shouldn't be contained in a military appropriation bill? Heresy!

[richlevy]

The 'work for hire' affair was a fiasco which demonstrated the reason that there should be and now is a ban on individuals being hired as lobbyists for a certain period after leaving Congress.

The work-for-hire amendment passed without hearings or debate*10 on November 29, 1999, the last day Congress was in session, in an appendix to an appropriations bill of over 1,000 pages.*11 The amendment is one sentence found within the appendix in a title regarding satellite transmission of copyrighted television content.*12

The section in which the work-for-hire amendment appears bears the label "Technical Amendments"*13 and the legislative history calls it a "clarifying change."*14 These characterizations belie the significance of the amendment and explain why no debate occurredtechnical amendments usually correct spelling, punctuation, or numbering without changing the substantive meaning of the law.*15 If Congress had held hearings on the subject, artists would have informed Congress that the work-for-hire amendment was not a mere technical amendment, but instead a significant piece of legislation with major consequences-namely the elimination of artists' termination rights.*16 Before "clarifying" previous legislation Congress also should have considered that a United States District Court had reached the exact opposite conclusion in interpreting the same legislation just six months earlier.*17

While Congress appears to have been unaware of the detrimental impact that the work-for-hire amendment would have on artists, the RIAA must have understood the amendment's significance for record companies.*21 Billboard reports that "the RIAA has tried to attach the item to various copyright bills for several years."*22 Further, Billboard reports that "[the amendment] was not requested by any member of Congress. Instead, it was apparently inserted into a final conference report of the Satellite bill by a congressional staffer at the request of the RIAA."*23

The legislative staffer who inserted the 'technical adjustment' into the Satellite bill at the request of the RIAA was Mitch Glazier. When Congress found out about the amendment after voting the bill into law, they had to repeal the law, since the 'adjustment' was actually a significant change which would result in artists losing the rights to their work permanently. The repeal was unanimous. Mitch left town 3 months later.

As for Mitch Glazier, he's doing just fine

Mitch Glazier is Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Industry Relations, of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade association representing the $14 billion U.S. recording industry. RIAA members, including hundreds of record labels, create, manufacture and/or distribute 90 percent of all legitimate sound recordings in the United States. Mr. Glazier serves as the chief advocate for the recorded music industry before policymakers and government officials.

Prior to his tenure at the RIAA, Mr. Glazier served as Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives. The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over all intellectual property law, including patents, copyrights and trademarks. In his capacity as Chief Counsel, Mr. Glazier served as the chief adviser to the Subcommittee and was responsible for working with members of Congress to craft legislation and amendments, organize legislative and oversight hearings and markups, and analyze and evaluate legislation referred to the Subcommittee.

No conflict of interest there, huh?

[ZenGum]

IMHO, that SOB should be in jail for perverting the democratic process. Not that I expected he would be, damn crook.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

I'm an apathetic American? Really? I mean, sure I'm complacent and self-indulgent, but where's my enormous car, and stockpile of automatic weapons?

How does what one drives for a car define ones complacency? Who owns a stockpile of automatic weapons and how does this relate to self indulgence and car ownership?

[Clodfobble]

Christ, Merc, pay attention.

[ZenGum]

'twas attempted humour, sir, based on gentle mockery of a certain stereotype and a partial resemblance I share therewith; inspired by a grammatical ambiguity in the initial post.