The U.S. Senate has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on
printing costs associated with passing simple resolutions declaring
observances such as “National Chess Day,” “National Safe Digging Month” and the “Year of Water.”
Those measures were sponsored by West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, and Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall respectively.
During this 112th Congress alone, the Senate has passed or agreed to 318 simple resolutions and introduced over 100 more.
Based on a detailed accounting of printing processes by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service and an accounting of expenses described by the Government Printing Office, a conservative estimate for the cost of the printing process alone is $1,200 for each simple resolution that passes. Since January 2011, then, the largely symbolic measures have cost taxpayers at least $381,600, not including the human resources and other costs related to bringing about the legislation itself.
The Senate defines simple resolutions as those ”used to express nonbinding positions of the Senate or to deal with the Senate’s internal affairs, such as the creation of a special committee. They do not require action by the House of Representatives.”
This Congress, while there have been some simple resolutions dictating the internal affairs of the Senate, the vast majority have been feel-good statements and declarations.
Those measures were sponsored by West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, and Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall respectively.
During this 112th Congress alone, the Senate has passed or agreed to 318 simple resolutions and introduced over 100 more.
Based on a detailed accounting of printing processes by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service and an accounting of expenses described by the Government Printing Office, a conservative estimate for the cost of the printing process alone is $1,200 for each simple resolution that passes. Since January 2011, then, the largely symbolic measures have cost taxpayers at least $381,600, not including the human resources and other costs related to bringing about the legislation itself.
The Senate defines simple resolutions as those ”used to express nonbinding positions of the Senate or to deal with the Senate’s internal affairs, such as the creation of a special committee. They do not require action by the House of Representatives.”
This Congress, while there have been some simple resolutions dictating the internal affairs of the Senate, the vast majority have been feel-good statements and declarations.
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