HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Boehner on Democrats’ Backroom Health Care Deals: Let the C-SPAN Cameras In the Room

At a press conference with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell today, House Republican Leader John Boehner called on President Obama to let the American people see the debate over the Democrats’ trillion-dollar health care bills - as the President pledged he would.  Specifically, Boehner said:

The President during the campaign last year said that when we got to this part of the process that it’d be a big open room and he’d invite the C-SPAN cameras in so the American people could see how this bill was coming together. And both on the House and Senate side this bill is being written in the dark of night.

You know, the bills that came out of the five committees in the House and Senate are gone. It’s not going to be one of those five bills.

And so I don’t know what’s happening in Speaker Pelosi’s office.  I don’t know what’s happening over in Senator Reid’s office under the direction of the White House chief of staff. But I do think it’s time to let the American people see what’s going on.  And the President ought to keep his promise to the American people and open this process up.

Boehner and other Congressional Republicans are pressing for a series of reforms in Congress to make it more transparent and accountable to the people it serves.  These reforms include a requirement that all bills be posted online for at least 72 hours before they are brought to a vote, and a requirement that committees post bills and amendments online within 24 hours after they are passed at the committee level, to prevent the majority from adding “phantom amendments” to bills in secret without a vote, as recently occurred with the health care bill in the Senate.  These reforms are detailed at www.gopleader.gov/readthebill.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Transparency in Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Boehner on Democrats’ Backroom Health Care Deals: Let the C-SPAN Cameras In the Room”

1. Joanne Robrahn Says:
   October 15th, 2009 at 5:10 pm

   Hey, Boner!
   Why don’t you stop criticizing and take some responsibility for yourself? And as far as helping small business-try passing an effective health care reform bill–THAT would help small business.

2. Billy Bob Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 5:32 am

   When reading vacuous comments like these, the rest becomes saliently obvious and all suspicions confirmed.

   “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” (Proverbs 17:28)

3. Call the Ceasefire « Three Seconds of Dead Air Says:
   October 29th, 2009 at 3:04 pm

   […] for 72 hours, especially since they had excoriated the Democrats for months about their “secret meetings.” Here’s the exchange (and please note Boehner’s eloquence and specificity): […]

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