Susan Davis reports on health care.
“Have you even read the bill?!” has been one of the frequent criticisms lobbed at lawmakers during town hall meetings on health care over the August break.
For those members of Congress—and the public–who haven’t, a group of actors have launched a new Web site,, in which they read all 1,018 pages of legislative text from H.R. 3200, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s version of the bill.
The bill is downloadable and indexed like an audio book so users can download parts of the bill at their convenience. The site, conceived by voice actors Kathleen Keesling and Diane Havens, relies on the effort of some 80 actors to get through the hefty text.
“We do this so that you can make an informed decision. Armed with specifics, you can then speak to your representatives empowered with the facts that make your opinion an educated one — one with weight,” reads the site’s mission statement, emphasizing their nonpartisan motive.
“We have no agenda other than to make it easier for you to know exactly what our lawmakers are proposing.”
The effort, while noble, may not be that helpful. The health care legislative is broken down in pieces across multiple committee jurisdictions in both chambers, and the text of H.R. 3200 is unlikely to be the final version of whatever it is Congress ultimately pulls together—so even if a user were to listen to hours of audio on what the bill says, it’s certainly not the final cut.
Not to mention, even seasoned policymakers have a hard time discerning what legislative text really means. Here’s a sample of what bill’s read like: “In the case of a qualified health benefits plan that is not an Exchange-participating health benefits plan, such plan may offer such coverage in addition to the essential benefits package as the QHBP offering entity may specify.” Got