FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 8, 2011
CONTACT: Rachel Semmel
REP. SCHWEIKERT INTRODUCES BILL TO MAKE OBAMACARE PROCEEDINGS MORE TRANSPARENT IN CONGRESS
Washington, D.C. – Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), introduced the Creating Sunshine, Participation, and Accountability for Our Nation (CSPAN) Act, H.R. 1432, today. This legislation would place transparency and accountability measures on any proceedings in Congress that touch the area of ObamaCare:
“Last year during the health care debate, President Obama and Congressional Democrats told the American people that our conversations on health care would take place with openness and transparency and would be aired on CSPAN,” said Rep. Schweikert. “This promise has yet to be fulfilled.”
“This legislation picks up the pieces of the Administration’s broken promises on ObamaCare transparency and makes it a reality. American families and job creators, who are forced to comply with ObamaCare’s detrimental regulations, deserve to know what goes on behind closed doors. If the president and Congressional Democrats won’t provide regulatory transparency and greater information to the public, then House Republicans will.”
“The American people deserve the facts. That is why they deserve the CSPAN Act.”
BACKGROUND
The CSPAN Act would do three simple things:
1. Require that all rules addressed by Congress in conjunction with the health care law be issued through the formal rulemaking process. This process requires that proceedings be “on the record” and under oath and subjected to a much more rigorous rulemaking process than the traditional notice-and-comment.
2. Require that each formal rulemaking process be presided over by a Senate-confirmed official.
3. Require that the formal rulemaking processes be opened to television and the media.
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This is a great effort. Good job Schwiekert.
I would just ask for one more thing, require our reps in Congress to publish their schedules. We the poeple deserve to know who they are meeting with. They can even publish it after the fact so we see who they met with, not a future schedule. Of course that will never happen because then they would have to find a way to hide the endless parade of lobbyists that are in and out of their office every day. The lobbyists are part of the reason for Obamacare and many other terrible public policy crusades.
Tea Party as to see the schedules!
What a great idea! Way to go, David. I wonder how many Democrats will vote against this?