Giant bill a leap of faith for many in Congress,
WASHINGTON — The $ 900 billion pandemic relief package being rushed through Congress Monday created a familiar year-end conundrum for lawmakers: It was a bill too big to fail, and also too big to read.
Delivering virus aid to the country required a leap of faith for lawmakers as they were casting their votes, practically sight unseen, for a sprawling, 5,593-page bill that linked the pandemic aid with a $1.4 trillion annual spending bill to fund the government. The Senate Historical Office says it’s the longest bill ever passed by Congress.
“I think if we provide everyone a paper copy we would have to destroy an entire forest,” joked House Rules Committee Chairman James McGovern, responding to a Republican request for a hard copy of the legislation. The bill was released at 2 p. m., just hours before the House and Senate were expected to vote on it.
Also in the bill: hundreds of unrelated legislative items negotiated by leadership to win votes from various constituencies. It includes extended tax breaks for the alcohol industry and motor speedways, comprehensive energy legislation, revised rules for music copyrights, approval of two new Smithsonian museums and lessened penalties for the transportation of water hyacinths. There’s also an entire section on Tibet, including a statement of U.S. policy on how to determine the country’s next spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and the decriminalization of the use of the Swiss coat of arms.
It was a dizzying if familiar finish in the Capitol, where lawmakers often procrastinate on passing bills — even those with broad support — until they are on the cusp of heading home for a holiday break. It’s why such bills are often called “Christmas trees,” trimmed with legislative ornaments, and stand among the most glaring symptoms of a broken Congress where the two parties can’t agree until they absolutely have to.
Still, the package was an extraordinary response to the global pandemic — the second major bill this year — and was negotiated almost entirely behind closed doors by congressional leadership. And because it includes long- awaited virus relief for businesses and individuals, all the additional items were catching a free ride to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Some frustrated members of both parties seemed unlikely to go along even with the bill destined to pass.
“NOT ONE Member of Congress will have had time to read through it before voting later today,” tweeted Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “This is awful governance, and a disservice to the American people.”
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez of New York echoed that thought: “It’s not good enough to hear about what’s in the bill,” she tweeted just before it was released. “Members of Congress need to see & read the bills we are expected to vote on. I know it’s ‘ controversial’ & I get in trouble for sharing things like this, but the people of this country deserve to know. They deserve better.”