Guest Column in Ft. Worth Star-Telegram by Rep. Joe Barton

War and Peace: Some people consider it the greatest book ever written, but most people recognize the novel because at 1,284 pages its length is often the butt of jokes.

Now imagine trying to read something that long overnight.

This feat would test the best speed readers in the world — yet it has become a common practice on Capitol Hill.

We are repeatedly asked to vote on bills without meaningful debate, the opportunity for both sides to offer amendments and in some cases without even enough time to read and properly understand the legislation.

Over the years, leaders in both parties have been guilty of using "fast track" procedures to rush legislation to a vote, but recently the Democratic majority — led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — has taken the practice to a new and dangerous level.

It started with the first bill of the year — H.R. 1, which is better known as the stimulus. The legislation was written by Democrats and had the full support of President Barack Obama. The 1,075-page bill came with a nearly trillion-dollar price tag. Saying it was rushed to the House floor would be an understatement. Just 15 hours after it was written, it was passed — mainly along party lines.

The "stimulus" was followed by a massive "energy" bill. Known to most as cap-and-trade, this legislation will adversely affect every American family and business. Republicans and Democrats wanted to offer more than 200 amendments to protect people from the inevitable increase in taxes and rising energy costs this bill will create, but instead the majority party allowed us to debate only one amendment. To top things off, just before 3 a.m. on the morning of the vote Democrats added 300-plus pages to the bill, giving few — if any — members of Congress a chance to read and completely understand it before the final vote.

Healthcare reform hasn’t been handled any differently. Despite promises of bipartisanship from the president, Republicans and even some conservative Democrats were shut out of the bill-writing process. In fact, I got a chance to see the 1,026-page legislation just 14 hours before the Energy and Commerce Committee started debating its merits. How can we have a meaningful discussion of something as important as healthcare reform when the voting starts while the paper is still hot off the printer?

We need to slow things down in Washington and take our time examining the short- and long-term impact of each vote we cast.

Not only should elected representatives have a chance to read a bill before voting, but you should too. It is the only way you can get past the talking points and the political spin to find out exactly how legislation will affect you and your family — from the price of filling up your car to who provides your medical care.

That is why I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 554, a bipartisan resolution that would require all nonemergency legislation to be posted online, in its final form, for at least 72 hours prior to a floor vote.

Sounds like a common-sense idea, but it is still meeting resistance from the Democratic leadership in the House.

So to help turn this idea into a reality, I have joined 182 of my colleagues in signing a "discharge petition" that would force Pelosi to allow a vote on H.R. 554. A discharge petition with 218 signatures or more is a procedural tool that forces a vote on legislation when the speaker refuses to allow consideration on the House floor.

The decisions we make in the next few months — from healthcare reform to energy policy — will have generational implications. This resolution will ensure that members of Congress and the people they represent have time to read and digest these bills before they become law.