http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/57163-voice-actors-record-daylong-reading-of-entire-health-billVoice actors record daylong reading of entire health bill
By Michael O'Brien - 09/03/09 08:17 AM ET
With all the August recess dyspepsia over whether lawmakers have read the massive healthcare bill before Congress, a group of voice actors have given voice to the legislation -- literally.
An all-volunteer group of voice actors have posted audio recorded readings of the House healthcare bill, H.R. 3200, for all to enjoy on a new website.
The recording is fully downloadable and indexed like an audio book, allowing listeners to kick back and pore through the bill's 1,018 pages a bit more easily.
"We just got really tired of hearing people arguing about it and not knowing what they were talking about," said Diane Havens, a voice actress who helped organize the project. Havens said that the actors wanted to do the project in an educational and nonpartisan way.
In a testament to the bill's length, the reading is almost an entire day long, Havens said. To help record it, the bill was split up between 80 professional voice actors, each of whom are now responsible to track changes to the legislation. If the bill is amended, so will be the audio recording.
The actors aren't just Americans, either. Voice actors from Canada and Australia helped with the project out of an interest in the legislation.
Most of the actors aren't voices many listeners would recognize, though, Havens said.
"I was really warmed by the fact that people really seemed to want to help," she said.
Listen here:
http://www.hearthebill.org/