Congressman Vern Buchanan: Open The Doors In Congress

VernBuchanan
YouTube
October 21, 2009

Democracy thrives best when the people are fully involved and engaged, said Buchanan on the floor of the House. I have introduced a resolution demanding that the critical decisions made on the sweeping health care reform bill now before Congress be conducted under the watchful eye of the American people.

Buchanan noted, In the past, massive legislative measures have been written in the middle-of-the-night by a handful of members and staff, and then quickly passed into law before the American people have a chance to even see what the final version looks like, let alone determine how they feel about it.

The New York Times has reported on a disturbing pattern of House leadership skirting open access by allowing small groups of conference committee members to meet privately and ABC News reported earlier this year that the $1 trillion stimulus bill was passed after closed-door negotiations.

The State of Florida leads the nation with one of the toughest right-to-know laws in the country, added Buchanan. Floridas strong Sunshine Law guards against back-room deals and secret negotiations by government officials. Its time for Congress to follow Floridas lead and ensure that any conference committee meeting on health care reform be conducted in the light of day and under full public view.