Washington Times on Sunlight Before Signing

[Jim Harper]

This story features the Sunlight Foundation's indefatigable John Wonderlich (oh - and me too).

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/22/obama-falling-short-of-bill-signing-pledge//print/

A couple of weeks ago, Whitehouse.gov posted a link on the homepage to new "pending legislation" page. Accordingly, they will start racking up the Sunlight Before Signing wins.

My post, reviewing the record and predicting a bright future for SBS, is here:

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/12/18/sunlight-before-signing-turning-the-corner/

The WashTimes story quotes Nick Shapiro saying that Sunlight Before Signing doesn't apply to ceremonial bills like post office renamings, and he says that the consolidated appropriations bill and defense appropriations bills weren't accorded sunlight because they were "emergency" measures. In different ways, these are stretches to shrink the Sunlight Before Signing promise, which was to post all bills online. While an emergency exception is reasonable, no bill has yet presented an emergency. Any urgency has been the product of delay on the part of Congress.

The promise again, in one iteration, was: "When there's a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look online and find out what's in it before I sign it, so that you know what your government's doing."

And in another: "Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."

Jim Harper