Boehner: Let Americans read bills before they are brought to a vote

In this opinion piece, John Boehner outlines what he believes the next Speaker of the House must do to regain the trust of the American people.

Accordingly, there are several steps I believe the next speaker should be prepared to take immediately. Among them:

• No earmarks.

• Let Americans read bills before they are brought to a vote. The speaker of the House should not allow any bill to come to a vote that has not been posted publicly online for at least three days. Members of Congress and the American people must have the opportunity to read it.

• No more "comprehensive" bills. The next speaker should put an end to so-called comprehensive bills with thousands of pages of legislative text that make it easy to hide spending projects and job-killing policies. President Obama's massive "stimulus" and health-care bills, written behind closed doors with minimal public scrutiny, were the last straw for many Americans. The American people are not well-served by "comprehensive," and they are rightly suspicious of the adjective.

• No more bills written behind closed doors in the speaker's office. Bills should be written by legislators in committee in plain public view.

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