Unhappy voters jam Capitol Hill phone lines

By Lisa Desjardins CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The recent debate over the nearly $900 billion economic stimulus plan and revelations of tax problems by three Obama administration appointees have voters angrily jamming phone lines on Capitol Hill to air their frustrations to their elected representatives.
Their reactions are putting pressure on Congress and benefiting watchdog groups on both sides of the political aisle.
Capitol operators tell CNN Radio that phone lines have been jammed for the past two weeks, sometimes prompting busy signals.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, said calls on the sweeping stimulus plan jumped from eight during all of January to hundreds a day now.
In a sampling of 12 Senate offices, half had so many messages that their voicemail boxes were full.
It's because of people like Betty Davidson.
"I'm very upset!" exclaimed the 63-year-old from Laguna Hills, California.
She called her senators Tuesday, frustrated with the almost $900 billion-dollar economic recovery proposal. "What a joke!" she said. (Continues...)