Foxx - Post Legislation 72 Hours Before A Vote

The following is from a press release from NC Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

Foxx joins bipartisan push for 72 hours to review legislation before votes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-5) today joined a bipartisan group of Representatives to call on Congress to post all major legislation and conference reports on the Internet for 72 hours before a vote is taken by the House.

“Congress has a duty to give Americans a chance to review and comment on legislation,” Foxx said. “But when important and controversial legislation is passed only hours after the final bill text is available, average citizens are shut out of the deliberative process.”

“Today the House is scheduled to vote on legislation that spends $33.5 billion—and the final legislation was only made available after 6pm last night. We can and should do better. Posting legislation online for 72 hours is a common sense step Congress can take to make our proceedings more open and transparent.”

Note: Foxx is a cosponsor of a bipartisan measure (H.Res. 554) that changes the rules of the House so that major legislation is publically available in its final form for 72 hours before a vote. Foxx has also signed a “discharge petition” for H.Res. 554. A discharge petition is a procedural tool to bring legislation up for a vote. Once a majority of the House signs the discharge petition H.Res. 554 must be voted on. The discharge petition currently has 181 signatures.