Constitutional Law

Bank bailout bill

The 451 page monstrosity is online.

Good grief. The bailout ends around page 297. The next 150 pages is comprised of benefits to one or another region or group, either to round up congressional votes or just slipped in. It included changes to the Internal Revenue Code, benefits for film production, disaster relief to the Midwest, changes in how Forest Service does business, exemption of wooden arrows for kids from (I assume Pittman-Robinson) taxes, etc., etc. You can tell how hastily it was drafted by the fact that many parts refer to amending or deleting "section ___" without saying section of what statute.

From what I'm told, Congress has yet to pass a single appropriations bill this entire session, and just had to pass a continuing resolution covering the entire government. It's a reminder that the federal government was originally set up as a tiny operation (the Sec. of State originally reviewed and signed patents in person; there wasn't even a Department of the Interior until 1849). That mechanism is now trying to run a, what, three million employee operation.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on October 02, 2008 (boomark / email).