Michele Bachmann: “at about 10:00 p.m. last nite, the text of the $792-billion so-called ``stimulus'' package was finally made available to…”

“at about 10:00 p.m. last nite, the text of the $792-billion so-called ``stimulus'' package was finally made available to Republicans. At 11:00 p.m., this 1073-page package was finally posted online for the public to see it. And, votes are expected by 2:00 p.m. today. Are Republican legislators really supposed to digest and comprehend the single most transformational piece of legislation that has come through Congress in 16 hours? We do a great disservice to the American people today by rushing this package through. But, the level of disrespect we show the taxpayers today by this perversion of process is far exceeded by the level of disrespect we show the taxpayer by the substance of this package. As the Los Angeles Times stated in an editorial today, this bill ``serves as a case study for the timeworn notion that haste makes waste.'' Whether by design (The Washington Post did report that ``House Speaker Nancy Pelosi . . . called the legislation `historic and transformational' for its investments in Democratic social priorities.'') or as a byproduct of the political wrangling to get the bill to the floor, this bill is chock-full of the pet projects and political priorities that lobbyists and lawmakers insisted upon. But, the bill is supposed to have a single purpose: to stimulate the economy. Congress' one and only criterion for any project or program should have been its ability to help grow the economy and help create jobs.…”