Is It Too Much to Ask Congress to Read Bills Before Voting?

• By Paul Blumenthal
• Special to Roll Call
• Nov. 19, 2008, Midnight

When Members of Congress moved to bail out Wall Street, they settled on a tried and true, “old school” legislative tactic: Don’t give anyone a chance to read the bill. Negotiations were done in secret, staffers were forced to leave their BlackBerrys at the door and the bill was dropped less than 24 hours before a vote was held.