In a case of political irony, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird on Thursday voted against a bill that would fund Mount St. Helens flood control — even though he supports the program.

Baird voted no to protest the timing of measure. House leaders called for a vote a scant 19 hours after the 400-page spending bill was presented to lawmakers Wednesday night.

Baird called the timing “appalling” and said it points to the need for legislation he’s introduced to require all major bills be posted online for at least 72 hours prior to being considered for final passage by the House of Representatives.

“While this funding will go a long way toward providing reliable flood control for the Cowlitz and Toutle River Valleys, the process by which the bill was passed cannot be defended,” Baird said in the written statement.

“This conference report was filed in the dead of the night, and there’s no way that members of Congress, nor the public as a whole had a chance to read it before the vote. That is wrong no matter which party is in power, and is exactly why Congress must pass my 72-hour rule,” said Baird, who represents Southwest Washington.

Baird, a Democrat, introduced a “72-hour rule” petition to Congress in September along with Congressman Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican. The petition is an attempt to force a floor vote on the legislation. He needs 218 signatures from his House colleagues to force the vote. He has 181 so far.

“Members of Congress are too often asked to make decisions on bills that can be longer than telephone books and are only given a few hours to actually read them,” Baird said September. “This is simply wrong.”

The Mount St. Helens flood funding provides $1.4 million for continued analysis of how to prevent Mount St. Helens-caused flooding in the region, including some incremental dredging of silt-clogged rivers. In addition, $265,000 was approved for flood control operations, including maintenance of the sediment retention dam near Toutle.

The spending bill measure easily passed in the House by a vote of 308 to 114 and must also be approved by the Senate.