You'll take note of all the faked leftist outrage out there about DARING to "Waste time" reading the Constitution of The United States on the House floor?
When did liberals ever care about how much taxpayer’s money they are spending?
Sure it cost some money if you add up the wages for the hour it took, but as ‘on the job training’ it is well worth it. Of course, most none of them actually will take it to heart.
How is it costing anything at all? Thats my question?
Do they have a copyright fee to pay?
lol
Ahhh, shut up liberal losers.
Pelosi’s long, rambling and mindless speech yesterday must have cost us a bundle, too.
Think how much money they could have spent if they weren’t doing this.
What a pathetic attempt at humor. Dummies just don’t have the stuff to make a rational point.
That is about the cost out on the town for the Obamas and one trip to California for Nancy Pelosi.
The base pay for a congressman is $174,000. That is paid whether they are reading the Constitution, sitting in their office or flying for a last minute Hawaii vacation. Similarly the electric bill for the lights and coffee machines will be the same unless they were just about ready to knock off for a couple of weeks. And I doubt that the police union will allow the cops to clock out early just because Congress had a short day.
And if even one word of the Constitution sinks in to their thick heads, we might save billions on appropriations bills.
GOP not reading The Constitution could cost north of $14 Trillion; the reading is a real bargain!
This post deserves: (Liberals trying to make a cogent point ALERT!)
Best use of $1M I’ve ever seen.
Perhaps, in their ignorance of such things, these people are not aware of that practice.
See the following from the Senate.gov web site:
1851-1877
February 22, 1862
Washington's Farewell Address
No Senate tradition has been more steadfastly maintained than the annual reading of President George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address. In this letter to “Friends and Citizens,” Washington warned that the forces of geographical sectionalism, political factionalism, and interference by foreign powers in the nation's domestic affairs threatened the stability of the Republic. He urged Americans to subordinate sectional jealousies to common national interests.
The Senate tradition began on February 22, 1862, as a morale-boosting gesture during the darkest days of the Civil War. Citizens of Philadelphia had petitioned Congress to commemorate the forthcoming 130th anniversary of Washington's birth by reading the Address at a joint meeting of both houses.
Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson introduced the petition in the Senate. "In view of the perilous condition of the country," he said, "I think the time has arrived when we should recur back to the days, the times, and the doings of Washington and the patriots of the Revolution, who founded the government under which we live."
Two by two, members of the Senate proceeded to the House Chamber for a joint session. As they moved through Statuary Hall, they passed a display of recently captured Confederate battle flags. President Abraham Lincoln, whose son Willie had died two days earlier, did not attend. But members of his cabinet, the Supreme Court, and high-ranking military officers in full uniform packed the chamber to hear Secretary of the Senate John W. Forney read the Address.
Early in 1888—the centennial year of the Constitution’s ratification—the Senate recalled the ceremony of 1862 and had its presiding officer read the Address on February 22. Within a few years, the Senate made the practice an annual event.
Every year since 1896, the Senate has observed Washington's Birthday by selecting one of its members, alternating parties, to read the 7,641-word statement in legislative session. Delivery generally takes about 45 minutes. In 1985, Florida Senator Paula Hawkins tore through the text in a record-setting 39 minutes, while in 1962, West Virginia Senator Jennings Randolph, savoring each word, consumed 68 minutes.
At the conclusion of each reading, the appointed senator inscribes his or her name and brief remarks in a black, leather-bound book maintained by the Secretary of the Senate. Early entries in the notebook were typically brief explanations of the practice, accompanied by signature and date. Often, several entries appeared on a single page. In more recent years, entries have grown more elaborate and have included personal stories or comments on contemporary politics and policy. In 1956, Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey wrote that every American should study this memorable message. “It gives one a renewed sense of pride in our republic,” he wrote. “It arouses the wholesome and creative emotions of patriotism and love of country.” The book's first entry bears the signature of Ohio Republican Joseph Foraker and is dated February 22, 1900. Links to selected entries are included below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senators who have delivered Washington's Farewell Address:
John J. Ingalls, February 22, 1888
Charles Manderson, February 22, 1893
John Martin, February 22, 1894
William Frye, February 22, 1896
John Daniel, February 22, 1897
Henry Cabot Lodge, February 22, 1898
Edward Wolcott, February 22, 1899
Joseph B. Foraker, February 22, 1900
Augustus O. Bacon, February 22, 1901
Julius C. Burrows, February 22, 1902
Fred T. Dubois, February 23, 1903
Weldon B. Heyburn, February 22, 1904
George C. Perkins, February 22, 1905
James B. McCreary, February 22, 1906
Elmer J. Burkett , February 22, 1907
Porter J. McCumber , February 22, 1908
Anselm J. McLaurin, February 22, 1909
Chauncey M. Depew , February 22, 1910
Lafayette Young , February 22, 1911
John W. Kern, February 22, 1912
Frank B. Brandegee, February 22, 1913
Claude A. Swanson, February 23, 1914
Elihu Root, February 22, 1915
Charles F. Johnson, February 22, 1916
John D. Works, February 22, 1917
Peter G. Gerry, February 22, 1918
Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, February 22, 1919
Atlee Pomerene, February 23, 1920
James W. Wadsworth, Jr., February 22, 1921
Miles Poindexter, February 22, 1922
Carter Glass, February 22, 1923
Frank B. Willis, February 22, 1924
Henry F. Ashurst, February 23, 1925
Hiram Bingham, February 22, 1926
Walter F. George, February 22, 1927
Henrik Shipstead, February 22, 1928
James Reed, February 22, 1929
Arthur H. Vandenberg, February 22, 1930
Sam G. Bratton, February 22, 1931
Thomas J. Walsh, February 23, 1932
Otis F. Glenn, February 22, 1933
Joseph C. O'Mahoney, February 22, 1934
Warren R. Austin, February 22, 1935
Nathan L. Bachman, February 22, 1936
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., February 22, 1937
Allen J. Ellender, February 22, 1938
Robert Taft, February 22, 1939
Edward R. Burke, February 22, 1940
Wallace H. White, Jr., February 22, 1941
Theodore F. Green, February 23, 1942
Eugene D. Millikin, February 22, 1943
Elbert D. Thomas, February 22, 1944
H. Alexander Smith, February 22, 1945
Dennis Chavez, February 22, 1946
W. Chapman Revercomb, February 21, 1947
Brien McMahon, February 22, 1948
Margaret Chase Smith, February 22, 1949
Herbert R. O'Conor, February 22, 1950
Ralph E. Flanders, February 22, 1951
John O. Pastore, February 22, 1952
John Sherman Cooper, February 23, 1953
Lester C. Hunt, February 22, 1954
Prescott Bush, February 22, 1955
Hubert H. Humphrey, February 22, 1956
Barry Goldwater, February 22, 1957
Frank Church, February 21, 1958
Gordon Allott, February 23, 1959
Frank E. Moss, February 22, 1960
John M. Butler, February 22, 1961
Jennings Randolph, February 22, 1962
Winston L. Prouty, February 22, 1963
Edmund S. Muskie, February 21, 1964
James B. Pearson, February 22, 1965
Lee Metcalf, February 22, 1966
Norris Cotton, February 22, 1967
Daniel B. Brewster, February 22, 1968
Paul J. Fannin, February 21, 1969
Quentin N. Burdick, February 23, 1970
J. Glenn Beall, Jr., February 22, 1971
Lloyd Bentsen, February 21, 1972
Charles McC. Mathias, Jr., February 19, 1973
Harold Hughes, February 18, 1974
Jake Garn, February 17, 1975
Vance Hartke, February 16, 1976
S. I. Hayakawa, February 21, 1977
Walter Huddleston, February 20, 1978
John W. Warner, February 19, 1979
Donald Stewart, February 18, 1980
Nancy Kassebaum, February 16, 1981
Daniel K. Inouye, February 22, 1982
Paul S. Trible, Jr., February 21, 1983
Frank R. Lautenberg, February 20, 1984
Paula Hawkins, February 18, 1985
Jay Rockefeller, February 17, 1986
John McCain, February 16, 1987
Terry Sanford, February 15, 1988
John W. Warner, February 22, 1989
Charles S. Robb, February 22, 1990
Conrad Burns, February 22, 1991
Harris Wofford, February 19, 1992
Dirk Kempthorne, February 24, 1993
Carol Moseley-Braun, February 22, 1994
Craig Thomas, February 20, 1995
Daniel Akaka, February 26, 1996
Bill Frist, February 24, 1997
Mary Landrieu, February 23, 1998
George Voinovich, February 22, 1999
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, February 22, 2000
George Allen, February 26, 2001
Jon Corzine, February 25, 2002
Saxby Chambliss, February 24, 2003
John Breaux, February 23, 2004
Richard Burr, February 18, 2005
Ken Salazar, February 17, 2006
Bob Corker, February 26, 2007
Mark L. Pryor, February 25, 2008
Mike Johanns, February 23, 2009
Roland W. Burris, February 22, 2010
________________________________________________
Reference Items:
U.S. Congress. Senate. Washington's Farewell Address. 105th Congress, 2d sess., 1998. S. Doc.105-22.
They show thier lack of understanding of economics (again!).
These are all fixed costs. This is money that would be spent no matter what you did with the time—debated, made speeches, passed a resolution declaring March 3rd “National Mr. Potato Head Day,” or recessed for the day early.
Since the money is going to get spent anyway (not matter what you do), the real question is: what is the best use of this time? Reading the Constitiution is certainly a good use of the time. It’s called training and education. Something every organization needs to dedicate so resources for.
I think they have a point. If it costs $1 million per hour to run one house of the Congress (not including whatever money they decide to spend that hour), perhaps it would be better to just have Congress in session two months out of the year. The savings would be incredible.
For that matter, why not take the entire legislative budget for G&A and direct labor, and assign the proportionate cost to each legislator. You know, something like each person we send to Washington costs us $683,000,000 per year and that's if they do nothing. Typically the cost goes up with the more they do.
We should use the private industry model, and make our expenses match or come in under our receipts. That way each representative would know that each had to find cuts of $683,000,000 from day #1 just to collect a paycheck the next year. If they don't, they get terminated. And no raising the taxes(anticipated revenues) to cheat either. That's how Enron collapsed.
Where was the Liberalist cost estimate when a tv comedian was invited to speak at congress to make fun of the Constitution, as it relates to the serious topic of the lack of sensible immigration control, which he mocked. That had to be at least as costly by any similar back-of-envelope calculation. No leftist had any issues with that waste of time and resources. Oh, but the reading of the single most important document of our history, which SHOULD make liberals sweat, is somehow more of a waste of resources than some tv jack@$$ making liberals giggle. Not only should the Constitution be read in Congress, but every single word or every single bill before it can be voted on should be read. Do your jobs Congresscritters, read EVERYTHING out loud and STOP THE SPENDING!
Why don't the shrinks in the psychiatric industry analze the mentality of these whacked-out lefty politicians and crazy pretend-journalists as assiduously as they did Barry Goldwater without even knowing or examining him?
(...rhetorical question, of course).
Leni
They should read it at the start of every week the Congress is session to remind them what they are to follow!