“Easy Riders” Subvert the Democratic Process
Robert A. Levine 1/1/2012
“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.” James Madison, The Federalist Papers
Madison would have been appalled at the incoherence of much of the legislation enacted by
Congress in the modern era. While the body of these bills is generally voluminous, and the language employed abstruse and confusing, its complexity is compounded by numerous “riders” that are attached. Members of Congress and Senators utilize these riders to win approval of legislative measures that might have otherwise been rejected, or at the very least subjected to further scrutiny and delay. They are really separate bills bearing no relationship to the primary legislation.
There has been a proliferation of these appendages to bills in recent years. Those who add riders to unrelated bills are trying to avoid offering these attachments as stand-alone legislation. On occasion, they may be introduced at the last moment to place time constraints on any opposition. They may also be buried in the midst of pages of convoluted legalese. It is done ;this way because the riders may benefit or antagonize special interests, or may be of value only to a small group or segment of the population and of limited national interest. Or the riders may fulfill a particular political objective.
In the past, riders were used to place earmarks in legislation, generating funds for legislators’ pet projects, or supporters’ schemes. They were often hidden within lengthy bills and objections to
them were uncommon since so many other legislators were doing the same thing. This type of activity is less prevalent now, but the riders remain.
The budget bill passed by Congress prior to the holiday recess is an example of how legislation with a specific goal can be larded with extraneous items. Obviously, in a budget bill many provisions have to deal with expenditures and taxes, and this one included a two month extension of the Social Security tax cut and unemployment compensation benefits. But there was also a mandate that President Obama make a decision about the Keystone XL pipeline project which has nothing at all to do with the budget. And the appropriation of funds by Congress was also used to try and direct policy decisions by the White House. These measures included restrictions on transferring prisoners from Guantanamo to the US or any foreign country, curtailing aid to Afghanistan if it did not make headway in rooting out corruption and empowering women, prohibiting payment of salaries for four presidential advisors including a specialist in climate change, proscribing funds that might be employed to alter or delay reports by the Department of Homeland Security’s privacy officer, blocking the assignment of American military forces to United Nation’s peacekeeping missions, and various other items outside the purview of the budget.
These unrelated attachments to legislative efforts undermine the democratic process. The press may focus on the major part of the bill and the public may not be aware of some of the riders that are being passed. They may also be so numerous that they become difficult to monitor. These riders deceive the public and force opponents to vote in favor of the attachments if they went the primary legislation enacted.
Future reform measures by Congress should include the elimination of additions to legislation that are unconnected to the original proposals. Bills should be crafted with clean cut objectives instead of being sprinkled with irrelevant riders. Legislators should be voting for or against specific measures and not be coerced into ratifying riders in order to get the principal bill enacted. But as with other reform initiatives, it will not be easy to get Congress to consider this kind of reform. Both the Republicans and Democrats are happy to have the opportunities and the ability to place their riders into unrelated bills. It’s the way things are done in Washington.
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Robert A. Levine 1/1/2012
“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.” James Madison, The Federalist Papers
Madison would have been appalled at the incoherence of much of the legislation enacted by
There has been a proliferation of these appendages to bills in recent years. Those who add riders to unrelated bills are trying to avoid offering these attachments as stand-alone legislation. On occasion, they may be introduced at the last moment to place time constraints on any opposition. They may also be buried in the midst of pages of convoluted legalese. It is done ;this way because the riders may benefit or antagonize special interests, or may be of value only to a small group or segment of the population and of limited national interest. Or the riders may fulfill a particular political objective.
In the past, riders were used to place earmarks in legislation, generating funds for legislators’ pet projects, or supporters’ schemes. They were often hidden within lengthy bills and objections to
The budget bill passed by Congress prior to the holiday recess is an example of how legislation with a specific goal can be larded with extraneous items. Obviously, in a budget bill many provisions have to deal with expenditures and taxes, and this one included a two month extension of the Social Security tax cut and unemployment compensation benefits. But there was also a mandate that President Obama make a decision about the Keystone XL pipeline project which has nothing at all to do with the budget. And the appropriation of funds by Congress was also used to try and direct policy decisions by the White House. These measures included restrictions on transferring prisoners from Guantanamo to the US or any foreign country, curtailing aid to Afghanistan if it did not make headway in rooting out corruption and empowering women, prohibiting payment of salaries for four presidential advisors including a specialist in climate change, proscribing funds that might be employed to alter or delay reports by the Department of Homeland Security’s privacy officer, blocking the assignment of American military forces to United Nation’s peacekeeping missions, and various other items outside the purview of the budget.
These unrelated attachments to legislative efforts undermine the democratic process. The press may focus on the major part of the bill and the public may not be aware of some of the riders that are being passed. They may also be so numerous that they become difficult to monitor. These riders deceive the public and force opponents to vote in favor of the attachments if they went the primary legislation enacted.
Future reform measures by Congress should include the elimination of additions to legislation that are unconnected to the original proposals. Bills should be crafted with clean cut objectives instead of being sprinkled with irrelevant riders. Legislators should be voting for or against specific measures and not be coerced into ratifying riders in order to get the principal bill enacted. But as with other reform initiatives, it will not be easy to get Congress to consider this kind of reform. Both the Republicans and Democrats are happy to have the opportunities and the ability to place their riders into unrelated bills. It’s the way things are done in Washington.
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment