Writing to my Congressmen

On 26 Feb 2009, I wrote to one of my senators and my newly elected representative, both Democrats:

"Sir,

I am writing to you as a concerned citizen. I have watched with great concern the legislation coming out of the Congress and the White House, specifically:

-the 'stimulus package' (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, became Public Law No: 111-5),
-SCHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, became Public Law No: 111-3), and
-the current omnibus bill (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009)

My simple YES/NO questions to you, as my elected official, elected to represent and protect the interests of your constituents, are as follows:

1. YES/NO Did YOU read the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 BEFORE voting on it?

2. YES/NO Did YOU read American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 BEFORE voting on it?

3. YES/NO Will YOU be reading the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 BEFORE voting on it?

4. YES/NO Did ANY of your staff read the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, in it's entirety, BEFORE you voted on it?

5. YES/NO Did ANY of your staff read the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, in it's entirety, BEFORE you voted on it?

6. YES/NO Will ANY of your staff read the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, in it's entirety, BEFORE you vote on it?

The reason I ask is a number of news outlets have indicated legislation is being passed without it being read by ELECTED officials!! Referencing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 specifically, the news media stated NOT ONE ELECTED OFFICIAL read it before voting on it!! And I am just curious to understand how that could possibly be, since these bills, especially these bills, represent huge expenditures of TAXPAYER funds and, as such, should be gone through with a fine-toothed comb to ensure proper protection of TAXPAYER dollars.

Please note: I do post/blog on the internet. I will be posting this request of you and my other elected officials. I will also post the responses received OR not received.

Thank you for your time. Look forward to your responses. "

It is now 5 Mar 2009, one week, and I haven't heard one word from either of my Democratic Congressmen. I even made it simple: all they had to do was write YES or NO, underline or circle one or the other. Not difficult. Or at least "I" didn't think so.

Opinionated Fool
Semper Fi