During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to bring a more transparent and inclusive style to the White House. He said in August 2008, “I’m going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We’ll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies.”
Sadly, the president appears to have backtracked on his pledge. Backroom deals are being cut on healthcare, and no C-SPAN cameras have been in sight. Even many members of Congress are out of the loop on the healthcare bill.
Accordingly, Senator Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky) recently introduced an amendment that would require legislators to make all bills public for 72 hours, with legislative text and an official budget analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), prior to being considered. Democratic senators blocked the amendment.
It is unfortunate that the Democratic leadership has decided it would be easier to rush their legislation through rather than honoring the people’s right to know. At healthtransformation.net, we have posted a petition to Washington to support the principle of Senator Bunning’s amendment by requiring Congress to make all bills public for 72 hours before voting. All Americans have a right to know what Congress is doing. Read more about how we can make our voices heard in my Human Events newsletter today.