Do You Think Bills Should Be Read Before They Are Passed?

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It’s a dirty little secret of Capitol Hill’s: lawmakers frequently vote on bills they haven’t read, either because they don’t want to spend the time or because the majority party, hoping to ram through a contentious piece of legislation, demands a vote immediately after a bill’s final version is produced. Now, a petition is circulating that aims to change that. Readthebill.org has a simple demand: “Congress should change its rules to require that non-emergency legislation and conference reports be posted on the Internet for 72 hours before debate begins.”

That 72-hour period would give lawmakers enough time to determine if they really support a bill. Perhaps more importantly, it would give everyday citizens and public watchdogs enough time to hunt for hidden provisions, kickbacks, and conflicts of interest. Take a look at some bills that got rushed through Congress here; they include the stimulus bill, FISA, and the PATRIOT Act. You can sign the petition here.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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