Exasperated over last-minute budget vote, Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez find rare agreement

(AP file photo; House Television via AP, file) Conservative Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, left, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, were in agreement Monday that Congress had been given too little time to review the latest 5,593-page federal budget bill.

Though all but polar opposites in U.S. politics, conservative Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, were in agreement Monday that Congress had been given too little time to review the latest 5,593-page federal budget bill.

Senators and House members alike raced late Monday to approve the $2.3 trillion spending package, which included $900 billion in economic stimulus and coronavirus pandemic relief.

“It’s not good enough to hear about what’s in the bill,” Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat popularly known as “AOC” said early Monday on Twitter. “Members of Congress need to see and read the bills we are expected to vote on.”

It’s not good enough to hear about what’s in the bill. Members of Congress need to see & read the bills we are expected to vote on.I know it’s “controversial” & I get in trouble for sharing things like this, but the people of this country deserve to know. They deserve better.

She noted that Congress was being asked to approve its second largest spending measure in history by day’s end, yet by 1 p.m. local time, members had not seen the text.

A few hours later, Lee tweeted “I agree” in a reply. The Utah senator went on to post a video denouncing the process.

“I’ve been in the Senate now for 10 years, and this is by far the longest bill I’ve ever seen,” a frustrated Lee said that afternoon in Washington, gesturing toward a copying machine as it printed page after page of the critical bill.

The situation was “extraordinary,” Lee said. “Because of the length, it is impossible that anyone will have the opportunity to read it between now and the time we will vote.”

1/4 This is the spending bill under consideration in Congress today. I received it just moments ago, and will likely be asked to vote on it late tonight. It’s 5,593 pages long. I know there are some good things in it. I’m equally confident that there are bad things in it. pic.twitter.com/SoWXnEWYfV

“This process,” Lee added, “by which members of Congress are asked to defer blindly to legislation negotiated entirely in secret by four of their colleagues, must come to an end.”

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