Despite heated objections by some Republicans, the unread 1,200-page Waxman-Markey climate bill was passed 219-212 in the House on Friday.
During Boehner's brief attempt at filibuster, he reads passages related to the usage of "qualified youth corps" to regulate energy efficiency in regards to "the sustainability of low-end income communities." "I wonder if ACORN qualifies for these grants," Boehner quipped.
Objecting to the fact that 300 pages were added to the bill at 3 a.m., Minority leader John Boehner attempted a brief filibuster, giving time for colleagues and aides to scan the unread extra passages and present certain excerpts on the floor. Politico blasts his effort, reporting:
That wasn't good enough for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who delayed the roll call vote by reading page-by-page through a 300-page managers' amendment Democrats added at around 3 a.m. Friday. Boehner seemed to relish the hour-long stunt, picking out the bill's most obscure language and then pontificating about what it might - or might not - mean.
Shockingly, co-sponsor Henry Waxman objected to Boehner's reading the bill on the House floor, and tried to prevent it on procedural grounds so that is contents would remain unknown and no one would shift support or delay the bill's passage. Passing "laws" in secret is not law at all- it is tyranny, and it is shameful:
Waxman also wondered if any "historical records would be broken" by Boehner reading part of the bill and queried whether the tactic was "an attempt to try to get some people to leave on a close vote?"
Politico reports that Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) raised questions about whether "there was even a copy of the current version of the bill anywhere in the House chamber."
Rep. Michele Bachmann stated plainly that the bill was "a choice between liberty and tyranny," claiming that the bill institute "control over nearly every aspect in the lives of the American people" and advocating the Forbes amendment.
Remarkably, Ed Markey, one of the bill's co-sponsors, rose to report that a copy was only available at the speaker's desk or online, which Politico reports, would require members "to leave the floor to access."
Rep. Michele Bachmann stated plainly that the bill was "a choice between liberty and tyranny," claiming that the bill institute "control over nearly every aspect in the lives of the American people" and advocating the Forbes amendment.
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