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Read the bill?

When Congress passes a 50-pound, two-jillion page omnibus spending bill, what are the chances that any of the signatories have actually read the damn thing? Approximately zero-point-zero, that's what the chances are.

Anyway, I think getting congresscritters to actually glance at a law before they pass it is the point behind this effort that I learned about from John Cole. It would mandate that any bill be posted on the Internet at least 72 hours before it goes up for a vote.

I support this idea, but for somewhat different reasons than others. Look, let's face it, there's no realistic way to force our congresscritters to read the legislation they vote on, 72-hour rules or no. But what such a measure would do is provide concerned citizens, bloggers and legislative watchdogs an opportunity to peruse any pending legislation for egregious earmarks and provision, Bridges to Nowhere and the like, and expose them to public scrutiny before the bill comes to a vote.

I think that's a good idea. It would be great if our lawmakers would read the bills they vote on. If they don't, however, someone should.