D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h
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Yesterday I described our plan to draft a law requiring every member of Congress to sit for a reading of every word of every bill before they can cast a vote.

I told you how this law would...

• Attract the support of nearly every person in America,
• Generate media attention,
• Create tremendous growth for Downsize DC,
• Slow down the legislative process and the growth of government,
• Tend to confine new laws to one subject, and end large omnibus bills,
• Tend to make laws clearer and easier for citizens to understand,
• End the process of passing bad provisions by combining them with popular provisions,
• End the last minute secret insertion of new provisions without the knowledge of all members of Congress.

In short, our proposal to "make Congress read the laws it passes" would be a major step in the direction of smaller government. But our proposed new law doesn't end there. I also told you that today I would explain a second provision of our proposed law, and here it is...

After Congress has sat for a complete reading of a new bill they must wait 7 days before they can actually vote on it, and they must provide the public with at least 7 days notice of when the vote will actually be held.

Think of this provision as a "7 day waiting period for laws," similar to the 7 day waiting period for guns that the politicians have imposed on us. Laws are frequently more dangerous than guns, so there ought to be a "cooling off" period between the time Congress hears a law and the time they vote on it.

The public notification requirement is also important, because it closes a loophole that Congressional leaders use to forestall public debate on controversial legislation. As it stands now the public rarely has much notice of when Congress will vote on any given law. This allows Congressional leaders to hold surprise votes to prevent citizens from lobbying effectively for or against new laws.

We just experienced an example of this! We has less than 48 hours notice of the vote on HR 418 - a bill that will take the next step in imposing a national identification system on the American people. Our public notification provision would provide an opportunity for public opinion to be heard.

All of these provisions taken together...

• Congress must read every word of every law,
• Congress must wait at least 7 days to vote on a law after they've read it,
• Congress must give the public 7 days notice of when a vote will be held, ... will serve to make Congress responsible for the laws it passes, slow down the legislative process and the growth of government, and aid citizen participation in the process of representative government.

The effect of this new law would be revolutionary. It could be history making. And now is your chance to place your name on this law, by becoming a Legislative Sponsor of this law.

We need to raise $4,000 net to craft this legislation and submit it to friends in Congress to sponsor and co-sponsor.  Anyone who contributes to this purpose will have their name permanently listed as a Legislative Sponsor on our website at DownsizeDC.org.
http://www.downsizedc.org/contribute.shtml

There is no minimum amount to how much you must give to have your name listed, but the more you give the higher your name will be placed on the roster - the highest contribution will get the "John Hancock line."

Please act today. It won't take long to raise $4,000 and the moment we  reach the goal the roster of Legislative Sponsors will be closed.

To make your contribution to become a Legislative Sponsor click here:
http://www.downsizedc.org/contribute.shtml

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

P.S. Pledges are always welcome and needed. If you make a monthly credit-card pledge, we'll "annualize" it - that means, multiply it times twelve, and see where you fit in  the roster. As of right now, a $300 contribution or a $25 per month  pledge would get you the second line on our online roster. And, as of right now, a contribution of $1,200, or a pledge of $100 per month would get you the John Hancock line (top of the list). Please join us before this opportunity> closes.
http://www.downsizedc.org/contribute.shtml

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D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of
http://www.DownsizeDC.org.

CONTRIBUTE to this project at
http://www.downsizedc.org/contribute.shtml
 

http://www.DownsizeDC.org is sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Inc. -- a non-profit educational organization promoting the ideas of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and small government.

VISIT the Foundation's web site at
http://www.DownsizeDC.org