Secrecy measure hidden in transportation bill.
Last year, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) worked to ensure that “budget justifications” for appropriations bills are made “available to the public at the same time they were made available to appropriators.” But in the just released House and Senate Conference report for the Transportation-HUD spending bill, a provision has been slipped in that “would ban the public from having timely access to budget information for the Transportation Department.” The secrecy language “was not included in either the House or Senate versions of the bill.”
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Wow, more secrecy from Washington? I’m shocked I tell ya…
November 14th, 2007 at 2:01 pmThe secrecy language was not included in either the House or Senate versions of the bill.
Isn’t that a violation of Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution? “Every Bill shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate,†before it becomes a law.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:02 pmWhoever put this provision in is an honorable American and no further scrutiny is called for.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:03 pmThis is a very effective way of moving our overall strategic agenda forward. It is inefficient, but better this way than never.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:05 pmThis is a very effective way of moving our overall strategic agenda forward. It is inefficient, but better this way than never.
Comment by hits — November 14, 2007 @ 2:05 pm
You mean by hiding legislation so that it wasn’t passed through an open and democratic process? You really are a “good german” aren’t you?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:08 pmJust like the signing statements…. abused to the point of making a mockery of the Constitution…
but defiling the core document of the United States is fine, as long as ‘our’ agenda is moved forward.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:09 pmThis is a very effective way of moving our overall strategic agenda forward. It is inefficient, but better this way than never.
Comment by hits — November 14, 2007 @ 2:05 pm
Jakey, “Our overall strategic agenda”? WTF is that, moving to becoming a total police state. Where did you get your Civics education, Stalin U.?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:09 pmBush’s Administration’s new title:
November 14th, 2007 at 2:10 pmDieNowForPeace
I like of OMDDSCFFABW1 just rolls of the tongue.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:11 pmInteresting, how this government attempts to claim more and more secrecy for itself, while simultaneously denying the common citizenry any privacy whatsoever.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:12 pmLooks like hits’s comment got scrubbed. Probably because of the racist crap he was spewing yesterday AM in the thread about Rod Wheeler on Fox.
Since he likes secrecy so much, he can keep his contributions to himself from now on. :-D
November 14th, 2007 at 2:13 pmrepublicans hate facts,
That’s a harsh way to characterize it, but yes, you are correct.
Hits
November 14th, 2007 at 2:13 pmWow. The Pukes would try and pull a fast one on the American public?
WHAT a surprise.
NOT.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:14 pmupside99,
You do make assumptions into oblivion.
Hits
November 14th, 2007 at 2:15 pmSince he likes secrecy so much, he can keep his contributions to himself from now on. :-D
Comment by koko the talking gorilla — November 14, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
I can just picture the tears staining his Klan robe.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:15 pmkoko the talking gorilla,
And you always have the option of not being influenced by me.
Hits
November 14th, 2007 at 2:16 pmtoasterhead,
Your imagination is quite vivid. You may want to use it to advance the discussion.
Hits
November 14th, 2007 at 2:17 pmDid hit’s just get voted off the island?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:17 pmComment by troll buster
Yea, when consistently violating the Terms of Use, it deserves to be banished for good.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:18 pmhits has left the building.
Let’s hope it’s for good.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:20 pmDieNowForPeace
Yea, when consistently violating the Terms of Use, it deserves to be banished for good.
Is there a link to these terms? I didn’t notice Hits ever doing anything horribly wrong.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:21 pmhits has left the building.
Let’s hope it’s for good.
Comment by TripMaster Monkey — November 14, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
Does anyone have any champagne flutes handy?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:21 pmSen. Coburn, explain yourself.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:22 pmHits is like Herpes. He’ll flare up again.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:23 pmSqueege, check out the link just above the “Post - I agree” button.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:23 pmBut in the just released House and Senate Conference report for the Transportation-HUD spending bill, a provision has been slipped in that “would ban the public from having timely access to budget information for the Transportation Department.†The secrecy language “was not included in either the House or Senate versions of the bill.â€
What I’d like to know is who exactly “slipped” this provision in? Was it another “intern”, as in the case of the interim U.S. Attorneys clause in the reauthorization of the Patriot Act?
Will anyone be held accountable for this monkey-wrenching? I’m not holding my breath.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:24 pmI didn’t notice Hits ever doing anything horribly wrong.
Maybe it was this:
November 14th, 2007 at 2:24 pmThe income gap has grown because it is tied to the intelligence gap and the gap that defines the desire to be successful. Why do we act surprised when we see Black crime rates soar through the roof, or when we see dilapidated Black communities. — Comment by hits — November 13, 2007 @ 9:22 am
Is there a link to these terms?
Comment by Squegeeboo — November 14, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Is it possible for you to read the web page you are posting from? Oh I get it, you need to be told by a Bush sympathizer what the terms are before you would believe them.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:25 pmIs there a link to these terms? — Comment by Squegeeboo
Well, hello again, Hits.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:27 pmDid hit’s just get voted off the island?
Comment by troll buster
Wow, that’s great. Now what incarnation do you think he will come back as? And wouldn’t it be great to be able to “vote them off the island” without having to wait for a TP moderator to wake up?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:27 pmThis is a very effective way of moving our overall strategic agenda forward.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:27 pmstrategic agenda meaning continuing the death of democracy? How clear can this get?
Is there a link to these terms? I didn’t notice Hits ever doing anything horribly wrong.
Comment by Squegeeboo
Anything wrong other than coming here daily to throw (s)hit on the wall to see how riled up he could get people? Or maybe it was his racist rants yesterday. Whatever the reason, good riddance to bad rubbish.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:29 pmralph the wonder llama
Squeege, check out the link just above the “Post - I agree†button.
Thanks, can’t believe I was missing that.
As to the other responses:
November 14th, 2007 at 2:29 pmFirst thing in blog community rules:
Respect other Bloggers - please do not threaten, insult, abuse, intimidate or harass other Blog users.
Hits totally spammed the two threads on Blackwater. Hitting the Report Abuse flag may not be enough, email the administrators if necessary.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:30 pmInteresting how the discussion on the topic is moving forward!
Hits
November 14th, 2007 at 2:30 pmIsn’t Squiggy’s name spelled wrong? Is this a namejacking?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:33 pmDon’t they read these bills before they vote on them?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:35 pmFirst thing in blog community rules:
Respect other Bloggers - please do not threaten, insult, abuse, intimidate or harass other Blog users.
Comment by Squegeeboo — November 14, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
Yeah, I noticed that too. Remove the insult and abuse from RHF’s posts and what would be left?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:36 pmShayne
Isn’t Squiggy’s name spelled wrong? Is this a namejacking?
Before registration I’d have either 2 or 3 o’s at the end depending on how I typed it in since the last time I had wiped out my cache (I think it was normally 3). Now that I’m registered its always 2, so that could be the difference.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:37 pmIf this provision was not in the version that was voted on, then it seems to me it should not be part of the bill….or perhaps the whole bill should go back for reconsideration…what remedy? Seems like this kind of underhanded activity should be illegal.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:37 pmWait, the article says the provision was buried in a report on the bill. So does that mean it wasn’t in the actual bill, but was mentioned as something they should consider putting into the bill?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:40 pmSeems like this kind of underhanded activity should be illegal.
Comment by jb
It’s not what we learned in civics class, is it? Anyway, who is going to chellenge this? Congress? No, they won’t. If they gripe about this abuse of power, the right side will call them names. Dems will do anything to avoid being called names.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:41 pmI guess we don’t teach civics anymore since we don’t practice those same procedures. Is America dead yet?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:47 pmAt least they’ve found out about it before voting. Several times the Republican leadership inserted language after the bill went to committe, right before the vote, so no one outside their circle would know it was there….
November 14th, 2007 at 2:50 pmTell me again what party won the majority in both Houses in 2006.
Did a democrat change the wording? If they didn’t, how did a republican get their hands on it to change it?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:53 pmThis reminds me of something Homer Simpson did once.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:54 pmAny bets it was a Repukelican?
November 14th, 2007 at 2:56 pmI guess we don’t teach civics anymore since we don’t practice those same procedures. Is America dead yet?
Comment by jb — November 14, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
Nope. Just our democracy.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:58 pmNice, looks like more people than me Flagged (s)hits as spamming the site with trash, and TP took out the trash.
Thank you TP for that. I don’t mind debate but (s)hits is not debating but was derailing.
Buck Fush
November 14th, 2007 at 3:15 pmDon’t they read these bills before they vote on them?
Comment by jb
I guess you missed this part of the post:
It helps to actually read the article before you post.
November 14th, 2007 at 3:16 pmSo, the article says it was buried in a ‘report’ on the bill, once again, does anyone know if this means that it wasn’t in the actual bill?
November 14th, 2007 at 3:19 pmDid a democrat change the wording? If they didn’t, how did a republican get their hands on it to change it?
Comment by gooderservice
Just because the Democrats have a majority in both houses does not mean that they have total control over bills that are passed. These bills go to committees and the committees have both Democrats and Republicans on them.
All I can say is thank goodness for someone catching it.
My bet is that it was a Republican who slipped it in. Last I heard, the Democrats were for open government and the Republicans were for closed/secret government.
November 14th, 2007 at 3:19 pmSo, the article says it was buried in a ‘report’ on the bill, once again, does anyone know if this means that it wasn’t in the actual bill?
Comment by Squegeeboo
Since the report was speaking about the bill, and the words directly before saying the provision had been slipped in refer to the spending bill, it is logical to assume that it was slipped into the bill. It would not be news if they slipped it into a report.
Are you trying to find an excuse for inexcusable behavior again?
November 14th, 2007 at 3:22 pmbilbobaggins
Are you trying to find an excuse for inexcusable behavior again?
Nope, just curious about the usage of ‘report’ instead of just saying it was in the latest version of the bill, as well as them saying that it wasn’t in the latest version that both houses voted on.
I opened up the pdf and poked thru it a bit, but it was 500+ and appears to be a pdf of scanned pages, so I couldn’t search it for any key words.
November 14th, 2007 at 3:26 pmDon’t they read these bills before they vote on them?
Comment by jb
Rarely do they have the precious “time” to actually read them (see Patriot Act). That’s what interns are for.
November 14th, 2007 at 3:26 pm“would ban the public from having timely access to budget information for the Transportation Department.â€
Whoever changed the legislation as voted on in Congress needs to be fired and brought up on charges of un-American activities. There is much too much complacency written above.
November 14th, 2007 at 3:41 pmPlease explain to me: I can understand that some things need to be kept secret for various reasons. I could understand the need for secrecy for, say, the budget for specific covert ops projects.
But the Department of Transportation ? If I want to see where the roads are, I just have to pull up Google Earth. How is the Transportaiton department covert ?
November 14th, 2007 at 3:49 pmComment by MapleStreet — November 14, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
November 14th, 2007 at 4:21 pmTry Google Earth on certain areas around Crawford TX, Washington DC and points in Maryland. You need your Magellan GPS to find those spots.
#52 Walt,
I agree. Cheney wiping out his living quarters seems rather odd also (and if Cheney can do it, why not Bradjelina and Michael Jackson who have demonstrated stalkers) ?
In all seriousness though, I can’t imagine what in the DOT needs secrecy. Admittedly, people from one state will compare the numbers to another state to make sure they get their fair share. But that is democracy and govt transparency. (or is this the answer I seek ?)
November 14th, 2007 at 5:24 pm