Secret Laws Spike Under Obama...

[MickeyW]

Congress is passing fewer laws than ever—but secret laws are on the rise

A new survey shows that for the past 30 years, Congress has steadily passed an increasing number of “secret laws”—provisions that are kept from the public eye.

That’s according to an exhaustive study by Dakota Rudesill, an Ohio State professor of law. A former senior national security analyst for the Senate Budget Committee who also worked for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Rudesill notes that more and more bills passed by Congress include provisions that allow for secret elements—which become law without the American people knowing what they contain.

Secret Laws Passed In The U.S. Spike Under Obama - Vocativ

 

[Captain Adverse]

Congress is passing fewer laws than ever—but secret laws are on the rise

A new survey shows that for the past 30 years, Congress has steadily passed an increasing number of “secret laws”—provisions that are kept from the public eye.

That’s according to an exhaustive study by Dakota Rudesill, an Ohio State professor of law. A former senior national security analyst for the Senate Budget Committee who also worked for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Rudesill notes that more and more bills passed by Congress include provisions that allow for secret elements—which become law without the American people knowing what they contain.

Secret Laws Passed In The U.S. Spike Under Obama - Vocativ

This is not news to anyone who understands the Congressional legislative process. The article is discussing "riders." This is how most "pork barrel" legislation is also passed.

In legislative procedure, a rider is an additional provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by a legislature, having little connection with the subject matter of the bill. Riders are usually created as a tactic to pass a controversial provision that would not pass as its own bill. Occasionally, a controversial provision is attached to a bill not to be passed itself but to prevent the bill from being passed (in which case it is called a wrecking amendment or poison pill).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_(legislation)

I've known, and despised this practice ever since I became aware of it back in High School. But it is basic politics, the method used to bribe members of Congress into voting for a piece of legislation, by letting them add something that will appease either their local constituencies, or special interest groups who funded their election, and so keep then in office. Small surprise it is also used for nefarious purposes like this.

 

[Ntharotep]

Congress is passing fewer laws than ever—but secret laws are on the rise

A new survey shows that for the past 30 years, Congress has steadily passed an increasing number of “secret laws”—provisions that are kept from the public eye.

That’s according to an exhaustive study by Dakota Rudesill, an Ohio State professor of law. A former senior national security analyst for the Senate Budget Committee who also worked for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Rudesill notes that more and more bills passed by Congress include provisions that allow for secret elements—which become law without the American people knowing what they contain.

Secret Laws Passed In The U.S. Spike Under Obama - Vocativ

I'm sure this would never happen in what was promised to be the most transparent administration of our time...
*For the sarcastically impaired

Riders should not exist. Make congress get up off its all, work more than ten days a year, stop going home to campaign, and address each bill separately.
This trade and haggle flea market approach to passing bills is disgusting.

 

[Manc Skipper]

If these laws are secret, how do you know about them?

 

[humbolt]

If these laws are secret, how do you know about them?

Found them on Hillary's server.

 

[Manc Skipper]

But there are more secret laws than before, how do you know how many there were if THEY were secret?

What's the point in having a law that nobody knows about?

 

[MrT]

I'm sure this would never happen in what was promised to be the most transparent administration of our time...
*For the sarcastically impaired

I would lay the blame squarely at the feet of gerrymandering myself. The focus on selectively crafting "secure" seats by Congressional District has, over time, enhanced political ideology to the point of extremism. If you want to challenge an incumbent within a district that is almost certainly going to be Republican or Democrat, based on demographics alone, then you have to be a more extreme version of that political ideology. This is also one of the reasons that Senators and Presidents tend to be more moderate because they have to appeal to much larger geographic regions with much more diverse demographics.

This has really come to a head during the current administration when Republicans swore, from day one, that they would try to make Obama a one-term President and to work to make his policies fail. You then saw the natural progression of this with the election of the Tea Party Republicans.

But the process and the need for governing continues. And so, in order to garner the support of individuals who have to worry about Primary competition merely because they compromised in order to pass basic legislation, then you have to find more subtle ways of passing a law that is easier to defend. So they can go back home and say, "Yes, I voted for a bill that gave LGBT rights to federal workers, but that same bill also saved the air force base that was going to close in this very district and cost you jobs."

 

[Ikari]

What's the point in having a law that nobody knows about?

Ensures that everyone is doing something wrong at any given tine to excuse government intervention against its people. This is racist, Big Brother tactics.

 

[MickeyW]

This is not news to anyone who understands the Congressional legislative process. The article is discussing "riders." This is how most "pork barrel" legislation is also passed.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_(legislation)

I've known, and despised this practice ever since I became aware of it back in High School. But it is basic politics, the method used to bribe members of Congress into voting for a piece of legislation, by letting them add something that will appease either their local constituencies, or special interest groups who funded their election, and so keep then in office. Small surprise it is also used for nefarious purposes like this.

Yes, I'm fully aware and also have despised this practice since high school. I was pro Death Penalty and anti- UN in high school, as well. 50 years later, my confirmations have been confirmed over and over again.

 

[Southern Dad]

But there are more secret laws than before, how do you know how many there were if THEY were secret?

What's the point in having a law that nobody knows about?

Ignorance of the law is no excuse but keeping it secret, sure makes it easier to violate the law by accident.

 

[Ikari]

Ensures that everyone is doing something wrong at any given tine to excuse government intervention against its people. This is racist, Big Brother tactics.

That should not have said "racist" but rather fascist ...stupid autocorrect...and stupid me for just noticing it.