Did even one Democrat read the bill?

Press Release from Americans for Tax Reform:
Did even one Democrat read the bill?
All but seven Democrats voted “Yes”””did they each buy a pig in a poke?

WASHINGTON, D.C.”” Today, on February 13, all but seven House Democrats voted in support of the conference report for H.R.1, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009″- a massive spending package promoted under the guise of economic “stimulus.” The final legislative language was not made publicly available by Congressional leadership until late Thursday night, giving the public less than 16 hours to read the more than 1,000 pages. Prior to the vote, Americans for Tax Reform asked all Members of Congress intending to vote for the conference report to sign and fax back/email to ATR the following form:
——————————————————————————————
I, _____________________________, commit to the taxpayers of the (___________________ district of the) State of _______________________, that my vote in favor of the conference report on H.R. 1 will be an informed vote, because I will have read the full text of the bill and the conference report by the time I cast my vote.
——————————————————————————————-

However, not a single Democrat has confirmed he or she actually read the bill before voting on it.

“There was a long list of reasons for which to vote “No” on this package — the size of its spending component, the fact that it will do nothing to grow the economy, and the secrecy and haste with which it made its way through Congress. None of these apparently were good enough for Democrats to reject the Pelosi-Obama-Reid package,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “Constituents in the district should call their member of Congress and inquire whether they claimed to have read the bill word for word or voted for the bill without reading it.”

###
Americans for Tax Reform is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose any and all federal and state tax increases. For more information, or to arrange an interview with Mr. Norquist please contact John Kartch at (202)785-0266 or by email at [email protected].