I believe there is such an option, Andy, as Sen. McConnell exercized something like it last year when he required that the entire Boxer Amendment to the Lieberman-Warner climate bill be read out in full. What that meant was that clerks took turns reading out pages and pages (800ish in total, if I recall correctly) of unintelligible amendments to an empty house. I don’t know–and perhaps a parliamentarian could enlighten us–whether this was only allowed because it was an amendment or whether it is allowed in all cases. Even so, it would not rise to the level I demand of my representatives, unless they are forced to sit there and listen to it. Actually, perhaps that’s a more attractive idea!
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About the Author
Iain Murray is vice president for strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
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