Everyone knows that Congress is elected by the people to serve the people. Yet far too often that democratic principle is ignored by Washington powerbrokers who work in secrecy and exclude the American people from critical decisions affecting our country. We need to change the way we do business in Washington.
In Florida we have one of the strongest right-to-know laws aimed at ensuring that government leaders conduct the people’s business in public. No private meeting, no backroom deals, no secrecy.
I have introduced similar “sunshine” legislation in Congress to restore that common sense principle in Washington, where Democrat leaders are discussing major changes to the nation’s health care system in secrecy.
CNN reported last week that “Democrats are prepared to short-circuit the traditional legislative process and exclude their Republican counterparts during final congressional health care deliberations.”
It’s time to shine some Florida Sunshine on the Halls of Congress.
This legislation, “The Sunshine Resolution,” demands that meetings to discuss the final details of the health care reform bill be conducted in the open under the watchful eye of the American people.
Full transparency is critical to a healthy democracy.
My bipartisan resolution, which is cosponsored by more than 150 Members of Congress, would put the House on record against secret, closed-door talks among lawmakers who will draft a final health care bill that seeks to overhaul a sixth of our country’s entire economy.
Back-room deals are being made to create a massive new entitlement program that history has shown would add to our historically high $1.4 trillion dollar deficit and result in higher taxes.
Health care reform is one of the largest public policy reforms taken up by Congress in generations. If enacted, the final bill will impact the lives of all Americans. With so much at stake, any conference committee or meetings held to determine the content of sweeping national health care legislation should be held in full public view, not behind closed doors. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
