Force the government to be accountable to the people

From Rand2016:

To me it's common sense: Members of Congress should actually read the bills before voting on them.

But in Washington, common sense is often flipped upside down on its head.

And the latest example is the 800-page Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - President Barack Obama's secretive trade deal.

The deal's text is kept hidden in a secret room within the U.S. Capitol, unavailable to the American public.

I'm demanding Barack Obama release the final text of the trade deal IMMEDIATELY before final passage is voted on by Congress.

So please sign your "Read the Bills" petition urging members of Congress to demand the White House make the text of the secretive treaty available to the public before being voted on by Congress.

Currently, only members of Congress - and select staff - are allowed to read the deal's text. But we're not allowed to discuss or talk about the contents of the deal outside of the secret room.

And even though most of my colleagues in the Senate admitted they haven't read the text of the bill, many of them recently voted to fast-track it through the Senate.

I've got concerns about voting on any bill that's kept in secret and hidden from the American people.

That's why I'm counting on you to sign your "Read the Bills" petition immediately.

Unfortunately, this secretive deal highlights a problem that is all too common in Washington nowadays . . .

The bills are thousands of pages long, and they're often plopped on our desks a few hours before the vote takes place.

So no one actually reads them.

In fact, about a year ago, a 1,000-page was bill plopped on my desk with only TWO HOURS to read it before the vote took place.

Current Senate rules currently require 48 hours before voting on legislation.

But when I objected on the grounds of having only two hours to read 1,000 pages, my colleagues simply changed the rule and held the vote despite my objections.

And I'm sure you remember former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously stating, "We have to pass the bill [ObamaCare] so that you can find out what's in it."

I believe the American people deserve better.

That's why I've introduced the "Read the Bills Act" in the U.S. Senate.

If passed, my legislation would FORCE members of Congress to actually read the bills they vote on to stop the backroom deals where thousand page bills are rammed into law before anyone knows what's in them.

In fact, my bill requires the Senate to wait one day before a vote is held for every 20 pages of legislation.

That means 800-page legislation, like Obama's secret trade deal, would have to be made public 40 days before the vote takes place - giving Senators adequate time to actually read it.

If you believe members of Congress should read the bills before voting on them, please sign your "Read the Bills" petition immediately.

I'm the only Senator demanding the White House release the text of the trade bill.

And I'm counting on you to help provide the grassroots muscle to force the White House to publicly release the text of Obama's secret trade deal before the final votes take place.

So please sign your "Read the Bills" petition right away.

And after you sign, can I count on you to chip in $20.16 to help me rally the American people to demand Congress actually read the bills before voting on them?

Thank you in advance for your support.

In Liberty,

Rand Paul