Burgess’ stunt with the 1,990-page House healthcare bill falls flat

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, attempted a bit of political theater this week. The result, unfortunately, reflected a loose grip on reality and ham-handed constituent service.

Burgess helpfully brought copies of the 1,990-page House health-reform bill (H.R. 3962) to the North Richland Hills library, undoubtedly to impress his district by the sheer heft of the legislation. He delivered it Tuesday and encouraged everyone to read the bill and contact him with their concerns before the vote — which, at the time Burgess was hand-delivering the tome, was anticipated today.

Let’s see . . . The library is open 9 a.m-9 p.m. That would have been about 24 business hours between Burgess’ delivery of the bill until what was the expected vote. So library patrons would have had to wade through more than 80 pages an hour of turgid legislative prose to complete the task, collect their thoughts and contact the congressman.

"North Texans should have the opportunity to see this bill for themselves and make up their own minds. I thought it was important to have the bill here [in North Richland Hills]," he said.

Burgess apparently did not think it was important to have other copies more conveniently located elsewhere. This is a palpable slight to his constituents in impoverished southeast Fort Worth, many of whom would have little or no means to travel to Northeast Tarrant County.

The goofiness of this stunt is compounded by the fact that this is only one version of healthcare reform legislation. Burgess’ House colleagues are planning to introduce a Republican alternative. The Senate is trying to reconcile two versions of reform, with Senate Republicans additionally seeking to add a flurry of amendments on matters such as medical malpractice liability and abortion.

And in fact, the legislation that the congressman dropped off at the library was out of date by Wednesday morning. House Democrats engaged in some "tweaking" of the proposal reportedly to crack down harder on insurance companies. The latest revision includes a requirement that insurance companies publicly disclose the justification for premium increases before they go into effect.

The official publication of those and other changes started a 72-hour legislative clock, meaning that a House floor vote could take place as early as Saturday.

In short, the House bill that Burgess delivered Tuesday roughly had a shelf life of today’s newspaper. We applaud him for reading it himself — it is, after all, his job — but suggesting the rest of us do the same is like shoveling snow during a blinding storm.

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