Final stages of health care debate should be open

Posted: Sunday, January 10, 2010 12:00 am | No Comments Posted

Arguably, nothing about government angers and frustrates constituents more than a sense that legislation or action affecting them is being decided under the table or behind closed doors. At any level, government works best in the sunshine of open discourse.

That's why Americans should find the approach taken by Democratic leaders in Congress to finish work on a health care reform bill appalling.

For reasons we can't even begin to understand, final discussions on one of the most significant pieces of legislation in our time have entered a new closed phase. The open conference committee process by which the House and Senate typically craft compromises on bills isn't being used. Instead, a final draft is being worked out in private.

In a Dec. 30 letter to House and Senate leaders, C-SPAN Chief Executive Brian Lamb requested C-SPAN cameras be allowed to broadcast health care reform bill negotiations, just as those cameras have televised "literally hundreds of hours of commitee hearings, markups and floor debate" on congressional health care discussions up to this point.

"As your representative chambers work to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate health care bills, C-SPAN requests that you open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage," Lamb wrote. "The C-SPAN networks will commit the necessary resources to covering all of these sessions LIVE and in their entirety."

As of Friday, no agreement had been reached to open the talks to C-SPAN cameras, according to the office of Iowa 5th District Rep. Steve King, who supports the C-SPAN request.

"Today the health care legislation is being negotiated behind closed doors, and C-SPAN's request to broadcast these negotiations is being rebuffed," King said in a statement last week. "Tuesday night President Obama and liberals in Congress decided to bypass conference committee debate to craft government-run health care legislation in secret in an effort to expedite its passage into law."

Why isn't Obama insisting on allowing the C-SPAN cameras in? Good question. In his statement, King reminded the president of a pledge he made as a candidate to keep health care talks open.

"There are serious differences between candidate Obama's statements in 2008 and President Obama's actions in 2010," King said.

Health care reform debate has occurred in open fashion so far. A reasonable expectation exists among the American people that openness would continue. Obama promised as much. Given the emotional, controversial and far-reaching aspects of health care legislation, the final steps in this discussion cry out for openness.

So why don't we have it? Call a Democratic member of Congress or the White House and ask.

www.siouxcityjournal.com