Single Item Bill (SIB)

http://www.cryptcl-idiotsavants.blogspot.com/ 

The legislative process in America is a hodge podge mixture of legislation, political favors, and payola. Anything can be added to any bill which means that you might want one item in the bill but the other items you are against. So votes are not clearly defined why the legislator is voting for the bill. Legislators are adding earmarks(payola) to bills, unrelated legislation, and in some cases pure nonsense into the legislative process. I for one am tired of this way of handling legislation.






I propose a drastic change to the legislation process, The Single Item Bill (SIB):

1. legislators identify a change or fix needed in government to solve a problem. Just a single problem/item/issue that needs to be solved.
2. bipartisan legislators work in committee identify a solution or set of solutions that solves the single item problem and create the single item bill to implement the agreed upon solution.
3. legislators vote on a bill that is a Single Item Bill (SIB) and contains the proposed bipartisan solution to the problem. There are no earmarks or other legislation allowed. Only the solution/solutions for the single item. The solution was arrived at by bipartisan committee so everyone should be familiar with the bill and understand what is in it. Before the vote we will know if it will pass simply because it is out of the bipartisan committee and now up for a vote in the House or in the Senate.
4. If the Single Item Bill passes than it will be up to the quality of the solution whether this single item fix is working as designed. If not we can repeal the first Single Item Bill (SIB) and create a new SIB with the better solution.

Sounds simple doesn't it. This means that all negotiations and political compromising is done in the front end of the legislation process when the solution for a problem is decided. Instead of vote buying, and political games that occur at the end of the voting process. With a single item bill (SIB) solutions for problems are clearly defined and understood by all parties. There will be no cases of the bill not being read and there will be no vote buying at the end of the legislative process. There will be no Obamacare type bills that are too big, too hard to read, if anyone actually reads it, too hard to understand, and tries to do too many things at once. Add in earmarks and other amendments for unrelated legislation and payola buying legislator's votes, and you have Obamacare. A 2700 page monstrosity that no one even knows whats in it or what problems it solves.


Sure the nay sayers will cry "it can't be done" or "you don't understand how legislation works". That's the whole point. No one understands how legislation works because each bill is different and designed for partisan vote buying reasons. Of course it can be done. If there is sincere support to improve the legislative process, support banning of earmarks, and modify the  legislation to creating all bills as a bipartisan Single Item Bill(SIB).