Voters appear to overwhelmingly support a Republican congresswoman’s demand for roll call votes in the House of Representatives. They also say members of Congress should read the bills they pass into law.
That’s according to Rasmussen Reports.
The poll finds that 89% of likely US voters say the votes for passing bills in Congress should be recorded on roll calls, which means every member would be on the record as voting “yes” or “no.” Currently votes are often taken verbally with no individual roll call.
Only six percent (6%) say it’s okay for bills to be passed on unrecorded voice votes.
Eighty-one percent (81%) of voters say members of Congress should be required to read every word of a bill prior to voting on it, while 11% disagree.
This year, Georgia Republican Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene introduced the Congressional Voting Accountability Act to require roll call votes on legislation in the House.
“For too long … Congress has escaped accountability for actions that destroy the American way of life by passing legislation in an empty chamber with no Members on record,” Greene said. “Legislation affecting the entire nation should not pass the House without a recorded vote. Constituents have a right to know how their Representative voted.”
The bill also has consensus across the political spectrum with 93% of Republicans, 87% of Democrats and 88% of unaffiliated voters favoring recorded roll calls.
There is also strong support across all categories for requiring members of Congress to read every word of a bill prior to voting on it with 85% of Republicans, 81% of Democrats and unaffiliated voters, and more than 80% of every racial group supporting this measure.
More Democrats (58%) than Republicans (46%) or unaffiliated voters (40%) say their congressional representative reads every bill he votes on.
(To see survey question wording, click here.)
I’ll add to that…I think they should write the Bills they sponsor as well. I expect we’d see a lot less ‘Legislation’ if it weren’t penned by Special Interests instead of our ‘Elected Representatives’.
We certainly aren’t getting our money’s worth out of these ‘Public Servants’ are we.
BCNU…
I believe that for the next 10 years each bill should be voted on after being read by congress even if out loud by one member of congress to the others and all required to be in attendance to hear it before voting. Also that for the next 10 years pork riders on bills be outlawed so that each bill has to be a complete single law without any riders to prevent even the appearance of corruption to a government rotten with it. Last I agree that each proposed bill should be required to be written in full by the member of congress, president or supreme court even if the main proposal was forwarded by a special interest or citizen of the USA.
If they have to do their job they won’t have time for insider trading or schemes to weaken our country or make personal profit deals with other countries?