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Why did Bernie Sanders co-sponsor the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act causing the postal system to be destroyed?
Submitted by THISAA on 24. February 2012 - 13:50
A look at the list of the Senate co-sponsors proves interesting.
http://maplight.org/us-congress/bill/109-hr-22/393432/contributions-by-vote
House Vote: On Passage
PASSED on July 27, 2005.
1/2 required to pass
voted YES: 410 voted NO: 20
Senate by voice majority
Comments
What is this some kind of a joke? HR 22 was a bill to give a one year "repreave" of the postal service having to prefund future retirement benefits. HR 6407 was the PAEA.
HR 6407 the start of it all
According to Govtrack.us the law in question, H.R. 6407 the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act passed the House by a voice vote and unanimous consent in the Senate. Now not only did the GOP not have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, all 44 Democrats and the lone independent in the Senate consented to the bill:
Votes: Dec 8, 2006: This bill passed in the House of Representatives by voice vote. A record of each representative’s position was not kept.
Dec 9, 2006: This bill passed in the Senate by Unanimous Consent. A record of each senator’s position was not kept.
Additionally, two of the three cosponsors for this bill were Democrats and you just don’t get more “liberal” than Henry Waxman (D-CA):
Cosponsors:
Danny Davis [D-IL7]
John McHugh [R-NY23]
Henry Waxman [D-CA30]
Still, the HR 22 bill that you embedded was to lower the amount to be paid yearly and not the PAEA bill itself. That was very disengenuous to try and step on Bernie's neck. I would bet that Bernie did not vote for the provision in the original bill that all the fuss is about.
Call out the other Democratic a-holes who sponsored the damn thing.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h22/show
momma mia!