After blasting the Senate last week for passing a 600-page bill no one had time to read, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced legislation that would force the Senate to give its members one day to read bills for every 20 pages they contain.

“For goodness sakes, this is a 600-page bill. I got it this morning,” Paul said Friday, just before the Senate approved a massive bill extending highway funding, federal flood insurance and low student loans rates.

“Not one member of the Senate will read this bill before we vote on it,” he added.

Paul also introduced related legislation Friday, S. 3359, that would prohibit the inclusion of more than one subject in a single bill.

During recent negotiations on a new transportation bill, the House of Representatives proposed drastic cuts that would hurt bicycling. Their plan would allow states to take federal transportation funds that make roads safer for bicycling and divert them to other uses, without any input from communities like yours.

This means local communities could miss out on the important benefits of bicycling, like reduced road congestion, increased safety, and lower health care costs. It could hurt your bike riding experience, too.

This House initiative threatens to scrap 20 years of steady Congressional support for modest, cost-effective investments that make bicycling a safe transportation choice for Americans. It is a bad idea that must be stopped.

Please contact your two U.S. Senators and one U.S. Representative today.(You can find your representatives, review basic suggested text for your email, and send your note directly from this link above.) Urge them to back the Senate’s sensible proposal (learn more here) to assure the participation of local government leaders in key transportation decisions about bicycling.

TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Thank you for speaking up to protect bicycling,

Tim Blumenthal
President, PeopleForBikes.org

(via )

rexysdayoff:

The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act.

Well there we have it, the government encroachment on liberty continues.  We might as well haul the Bill of Rights out of the National Archive and burn it in the streets.

What is this country’s main problem? Too many politicians…our elected government needs less lawyers and more business men, scientists, and engineers.