In Praise of…AOC?

(Annie Black) – They say even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Speaking of nuts, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“AOC”) – the card-carrying socialist from New York – actually got something right on Monday.

At issue is the “omnibus” COVID relief package approved by Congress that gives all of $600 of your tax money back to you while dishing out billions to pork, pet projects and foreign nations.

Stephen Moore of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity nicely captured the thoughts of fiscal conservatives on this bill…

“Republicans in Congress, en masse, voted for a monstrosity that violates EVERY principle of good economics, limited government, and fiscal conservatism. … Whatever happened to the GOP’s commitment to read the bill before they vote on it? We guess they will use the Pelosi strategy of finding out what’s in the bill AFTER they vote on it.”

That sentiment was echoed by a few (too few!) Members of Congress…

• “5,600 pages. Votes are still expected today on this legislation. No one will be able to read it all in its entirety.” – Andy Biggs

• “Omni text dropped. Looking forward to reading 5k+ page bill, understanding each provision, thinking about the larger implications for our country & making an informed decision on $2.3 trillion of YOUR dollars….in the next 4 hours.” – Dan Bishop

• “They gave us 5,600 pages of legislation to vote on in a matter of hours. A $2.4T bill that nobody has time to read, so we can fund things that will harm our country & economic recovery.” – Chip Roy

• “The Omnibus/COVID Relief Deal that the House is voting on tonight is 5,600 pages long and Members received the bill text at 2:00 PM. A few hours to review $2.3 TRILLION of government spending. This is no way to govern.” – Ron Wright

• “We can expect a vote on a 5,600-page bill this evening. Can anyone read 1,000 pages in an hour? Asking for a few friends on the Hill and the American people.” – Warren Davidson

• “They make these bills 5,500 pages so they can pass some obscene provision on page 3,400 and hope no one sees it until it’s passed. This method of trickery is pathetic.” – Rep-elect Lauren Boebert 
• “The days of passing legislation ‘so that you can find out what is in it’ MUST END! Members of Congress must have ample time to review bills before votes. Attempts by leadership to jam bills through is an affront to democracy. We need transparency & time for due diligence.” – Rep–elect Nicole Malliotakis

They are, of course, 100% correct.  And it’s not much of a surprise that conservative Republicans would object to such a flawed process for doing the public’s business.

But AOC?

Take a look at what Congresswoman Green-New-Deal tweeted on Monday…

“Members of Congress have not read this bill. It’s over 5000 pages, arrived at 2pm today, and we are told to expect a vote on it in 2 hours.  This isn’t governance. It’s hostage-taking.

“And by the way, it’s not just members who need to see the bill ahead of time – YOU do. The PUBLIC needs to see these bills w enough time to contact their rep to let them know how they feel.”

Knock me over with a feather!

Sadly, this vote-first-read-later style of legislating isn’t confined to the murky swamps of Washington, DC.  It goes on in Carson City every legislative session, as well.

The most recent example was the election overhaul bill (AB4) passed by the Nevada Legislature in the dead of night with only a few hours’ notice during August’s special session.

That’s why one of the bills I’ve introduced for the 2021 session – The Slam & Jam Prevention Act – would amend the Nevada Constitution to require that all bills be posted on a public website in their entirety, without amendment, for at least 48 hours before being voted on.

No longer should Nevada voters and taxpayers be forced to wait until after a bill is passed to find out what’s in it.

Heck, even AOC agrees with that!

Ms. Black is a Republican member of the Nevada State Assembly representing District 19