Details Of Huge Error GOP Made In Their Senate Tax Bill Emerge Online

[Nellise]

As the bill has to be reconciled with the House version, any errors are inconsequential.

Except the House can choose to pass the Senate version. It almost certainly won't, but it can.

[Breccia]

It almost certainly won't, but it can.

Last-ditch defense.

If the House and the Senate find themselves up against a brick wall, the House will take this option, forcing this handwritten sham onto the American people instead of saying "well, we failed again, hey where did our donors go?"

[Kellhound]

Not really, as people are discovering as they actually start going through the text of the bill and start realizing how completely batshit insane it is.

This is not how legislation should be passed. Ever.

That's how most legislation is passed....

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Except the House can choose to pass the Senate version. It almost certainly won't, but it can.

That will never happen, so it is moot.

[Very Tired]

I wonder if Trump would still sign it into action as it is now. Who cares if it does the opposite of what you said it would, he's got to look like he's doing something!

[Edge-]

That's how most legislation is passed....

No it's not. Legislation doesn't normally get handed out hours ahead of a vote, giving nobody a chance to read through it, filled with contradictory scribbles that are often times almost impossible to read in the margins.

[Kellhound]

No it's not. Legislation doesn't normally get handed out hours ahead of a vote, giving nobody a chance to read through it, filled with contradictory scribbles that are often times almost impossible to read in the margins.

Do you really think politicians read through every bill?

[Dug]

Republicans being morons per usual

[Edge-]

Do you really think politicians read through every bill?

Of course not, their staff does. But I do know that at least my reps read through all major legislation, and others do as well. Either way, there was no chance for anyone to read through it.

Again, hence why so much monumentally stupid bullshit is being discovered now that folks are actually getting a chance to dig through the bill and analyze it.

I'm not sure what you're trying to argue here, that we should accept this kind of behavior? That this is good governance? If you handed in a paper like this as an undergraduate in college most professors would flat-out refuse to even accept it, should we expect lower standards from the United States Senate?

[Mormolyce]

I'm going to go on record saying that I was wrong about this, in case in future someone accuses me of never admitting to being wrong and I need a substantive counterexample.

I really didn't think the Senate would pass the bill in this form, I know they're desperate for a nominal win to placate the lobby groups, but wow. This thing is a real stinker and it's going to bite them on the ass hard. It's like they're thinking no further ahead than like, a week.

That's how most legislation is passed....

I don't think that's true, but if it was, holy shit.

[Jastall]

Do you really think politicians read through every bill?

There's a difference between politicians not reading every line in the foot-long bills they deal with all day (as Edge says, the staff is there for that), and proposing such a major tax overhaul almost literally written on the back of a freaking napkin.

Like, if this was about controlling the population of the moose in national parks or something, yeah some lack of interest would be quite understandable. This is a major tax reform passed with less professionalism than the papers I tossed together at the last minute early in college, which of course leads to these blatant errors. How such gross incompetence can be tolerated from elected officials is beyond me. This is worse than politicians disagreeing with me, this is them either being incompetent or not giving a shit.

[beanman12345]

As the bill has to be reconciled with the House version, any errors are inconsequential.

While unfortunately true, it's still good for a laugh.

[Kellhound]

Of course not, their staff does. But I do know that at least my reps read through all major legislation, and others do as well. Either way, there was no chance for anyone to read through it.

Again, hence why so much monumentally stupid bullshit is being discovered now that folks are actually getting a chance to dig through the bill and analyze it.

I'm not sure what you're trying to argue here, that we should accept this kind of behavior? That this is good governance? If you handed in a paper like this as an undergraduate in college most professors would flat-out refuse to even accept it, should we expect lower standards from the United States Senate?

Perhaps the first, very unlikely the second.

DO I agree with it or condone it? No. I believe every member of congress should be required to read every bill they vote on and that every vote should only take place after sufficient time to do so has been given. However, accountability and responsibility are not concepts US politicians like, unless you are only discussing their special interest groups.

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There's a difference between politicians not reading every line in the foot-long bills they deal with all day (as Edge says, the staff is there for that), and proposing such a major tax overhaul almost literally written on the back of a freaking napkin.

Like, if this was about controlling the population of the moose in national parks or something, yeah some lack of interest would be quite understandable. This is a major tax reform passed with less professionalism than the papers I tossed together at the last minute early in college, which of course leads to these blatant errors. How such gross incompetence can be tolerated from elected officials is beyond me. This is worse than politicians disagreeing with me, this is them either being incompetent or not giving a shit.

The first passing of a major bill like this is not to be taken seriously, it will never survive intact. What matters is the reconciled bill. That's the one you want people reading with a fine toothed comb (not that it matters for most of them, they will vote party line no matter what is in it). And the mistakes and contradictions are actually caused by politicians giving a shit about their pet views.

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While unfortunately true, it's still good for a laugh.

If it wasn't for the harm politicians cause, they would always be good for a laugh.....

[Dontrike]

That's how most legislation is passed....

No, it's really not. No bill ever gets rushed at this speed, voted at 1 a.m., no chance to read it, and have scribbles on the sides of it like a 2nd grader trying to finish their homework on the bus.

If it is how most legislation is passed then we are far more fucked than any of us truly realize.

[cubby]

They already are going to have to have multiple other votes as they work toward a bill that can pass both the house and the Senate.

IIRC, they were trying to get the House Bill to match the Senate bill exactly, so the Senate wouldn't have to revote. But now that seems near impossible with the corporate tax break fuck up.

What other items were the Senate going to have to revote on prior to this embarrassing revelation?

[Kujako]

Do you really think politicians read through every bill?

Do you really think any of them read the 500+ page bill in the few hours they had before they voted "yes" on it?

[Breccia]

Do you really think any of them read the 500+ page bill in the few hours they had before they voted "yes" on it?

Well, they missed the corporate AMT thing, so, even if they did read it, they didn't understand it.

This is not a redeeming quality.

[pathora44]

Man who knew hastily writing in tons of amendments in the margin of a 500 page tax bill 20 mins before the vote begins could lead to messing some things up. You know this reminded me of something. What have Republican congressman and their constituents been saying about the ACA or "Obamacare" ever since it was passed. That it was forced through Congress without any time to properly go over it. Which isn't true in the slightest since it was debated for months and Republicans did everything they could to gut and gimp it so it would fail but that is neither here nor there. Well now look at what the Republicans have been doing with both their failed Healthcare "reform" bill and their new tax bill plan. With the healthcare bill they kept Democrats out of the committees writing the bill and hid it from the public for as long as they could. Now with the tax bill they throw over 500 pages with hastily written amendments in the margins at the Democrats well into the eleventh hour and shot down any call to hold off the vote so the amendments could be scrutinized. So what did we learn? That the Republicans are all fucking hypocrites.

[Kellhound]

No, it's really not. No bill ever gets rushed at this speed, voted at 1 a.m., no chance to read it, and have scribbles on the sides of it like a 2nd grader trying to finish their homework on the bus.

If it is how most legislation is passed then we are far more fucked than any of us truly realize.

We are more fucked than you realized, welcome to politics.

[Omega10]

We are more fucked than you realized, welcome to politics.

I agree with this.

[PosPosPos]

We are more fucked than you realized, welcome to politics.

Mostly because of people like you. If not the world would already be a better place.