Today, Congressman Shadegg released the following statement regarding House consideration of the Majority’s so-called “Cap-and-Trade” bill:

“Late this afternoon, during floor debate, the Speaker Pro Tempore of the House acknowledged that the 300-page manager’s amendment adopted by the Rules Committee at approximately 4 a.m. this morning was still being “integrated” into the 900-page bill by the House Clerk. The Speaker Pro Tempore noted that this task was being done by a member of the House Clerk’s staff, sitting at the desk. In this process, changes made by the over 300-page amendment have to be physically marked and inserted into the 900-page bill. Since the Clerk’s office had not completed this task, no member of Congress – Democrat or Republican – could possibly have read it before the vote scheduled to occur this evening.

“The American people should be outraged. Not a single one of the 435 Members of Congress who will be called upon to vote on this bill tonight could conceivably have read it and know what is in it. The American people deserve better.

This legislation will affect the livelihoods and lives of every single American, yet it will have been impossible for any Member of Congress to have read before the vote occurs. “This is not thoughtful democracy, this is tyranny by an out-of-control Congress.”