"There is no legislative process any more" - report on GOP Congress

[swag]

via http://www.warandpiece.com, the first part of a Boston Globe report on the very scary GOP Congress.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/10/03/back_room_dealing_a_capitol_trend/

Back-room dealing a Capitol trend
GOP flexing its majority power
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | October 3, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Dismayed that the technology company Accenture had located its headquarters in Bermuda, thereby avoiding paying hundreds of millions of dollars in US taxes, the House Appropriations Committee voted 35-17 this summer to strip the firm of a $10 billion Homeland Security contract.

It was a rare moment of bipartisan agreement and an important victory for those who decry corporate tax loopholes. But it didn't last long. The Rules Committee, the all-powerful gatekeeper of the Republican leadership, prevented the measure from reaching the House floor. In a further show of its power to pick and choose what the full House can vote on, the Rules Committee allowed the House to vote on a ban on future Homeland Security contracts to overseas companies -- but let the $10 billion flow to Accenture, which spent $2 million last year lobbying the government.

The Accenture episode is emblematic of the way business is conducted in the 108th Congress, where a Republican leadership has sidelined legislation unwanted by the Bush administration, even when a majority of the House seemed ready to approve it, according to lawmakers, lobbyists, and an analysis of House activities. With one party controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, and having little fear of retaliation by the opposing party, the House leadership is changing the way laws are made in America, favoring secrecy and speed over open debate and negotiation. Longstanding rules and practices are ignored. Committees more often meet in secret. Members are less able to make changes to legislation on the House floor. Bills come up for votes so quickly that elected officials frequently don't know what's in them. And there is less time to discuss proposed laws before they come up for a vote.

"There is no legislative process anymore," said Fred Wertheimer, the legendary open-government activist who has been monitoring Congress since 1963. "Bills are decided in advance of going to the floor."

. . .

But longtime Congress-watchers say they have never seen the legislative process so closed to input from minority-party members, the public, and lobbyists whose agenda is unsympathetic to GOP leadership goals.

. . .

[Bandit]

1. Kick

:kick: This is the type of reporting that America does not ever see. The most deliberative body on earth is not.....

[G_j]

2. can we scream now?

:argh::wow::argh:

[Q]

3. Welcome to the ONE-PARTY STATE

...where a few (rich) men decide the fate of our country.

[proud patriot]

4. Grrrrrrrrrrrr

:mad:

[Mandate My Ass]

5. Scariest thing I've read

in a really long time.

[swag]

6. kick

[Laughing Mirror]

7. Much useful information about the Rules Committee in this long article

Everybody should spend a few minutes reading it.

[Cats Against Frist]

8. kick for totalitarianism

[Tsiyu]

9. This is the part about the GOP I do not understand

Repukes are the most un-American human beings on the planet. They wrap themselves in the flag and bellow about patriotism, yet they repeatedly and with malicious intent circumvent the American legislatlative process.

The Spirit of America is open, free debate. The idea of America is letting the people - through their elected representatives- decide which laws they want and don't want. We have a Congress now that says, "Kiss it," to the American people, by acting in secrecy, by ignoring opposing views and by the illegality of rigging nearly every vote and thumbing their noses at every rule.

These GOP thugs do not deserve to sit in those seats in the House and Senate. They should be jailed for treason against the American people.