The Senate Finance Committee is expected to pass the big health care reform bill this week, which will send it to the Senate floor for debate, amendments and a final vote on passage. In anticipation of this, eight moderate Democrats sent a letter yesterday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, calling on him to make available to the public the complete text of the bill and the cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office at least 72 hours before the first vote. Quoting from their letter:
Whether or not our constituents agree with the direction of the debate, many are frustrated and lacking accurate information on the emerging proposals in Congress. Without a doubt, reforming health care in America is one of the most monumental and far-reaching undertakings considered by this body in decades. We believe the American public’s participation in this process is critical to our overall success of creating a bill that lowers health care costs and offers access to quality and affordable health care for all Americans.
Every step of the process needs to be transparent, and information regarding the bill needs to be readily available to our constituents before the Senate starts to vote on legislation that will affect the lives of every American. The legislative text and complete budget scores from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of the health care legislation considered on the Senate floor should be made available on a website the public can access for at least 72 hours prior to the first vote to proceed to the legislation. Likewise, the legislative text and complete CBO scores of the health care legislation as amended should be made available to the public for 72 hours prior to the vote on final passage of the bill in the Senate. Further, the legislative text of all amendments filed and offered for debate on the Senate floor should be posted on a public website prior to beginning debate on the amendment on the Senate floor. Lastly, upon a final agreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate, a formal conference report detailing the agreement and complete CBO scores of the agreement should be made available to the public for 72 hours prior to the vote on final passage of the conference report in the Senate.
By publically posting the legislation and its CBO scores 72 hours before it is brought to a vote in the Senate and by publishing the text of amendments before they are debated, our constituents will have the opportunity to evaluate these policies and communicate their concerns or their message of support to their Members of Congress. As their democratically-elected representatives in Washington, D.C., it is our duty to listen to their concerns and to provide them with the chance to respond to proposals that will impact their lives. At a time when trust in Congress and the U.S. government is unprecedentedly low, we can begin to rebuild the American people’s faith in their federal government through transparency and by actively inviting Americans to participate in the legislative process.
We respectfully request that you agree to these principles before moving forward with floor debate of this legislation. We appreciate your serious consideration and look forward to working with you on health care reform legislation in the weeks ahead.
The eight Senators who signed this letter:
Senator Blanche L. Lincoln of Arkansas, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Senator Ben Nelson of Florida, Senator Mark L. Pryor of Arkansas, and Senator Jim Webb of Virginia.
Quoting from a story in Politico:
Republicans fought for a similar three-day waiting period before the Senate Finance Committee voted on its proposal, but their amendment was shot down because it would have delayed a vote by a week or two.
But with the success of reform hanging on this group of moderate Dems, it will not be as easy for Reid to dismiss their concerns, even if it delays each part of the process by a week or more.
Senator Reid should follow their lead, agree to these principles and make all this information available to the American people before the votes on the Senate floor. It’s a step in the right direction.
But even this is not enough. Congress should be allowing a public comment period on the legislation right now. 72 hours isn’t enough for us to read, digest, fully understand and then provide our feedback to our Senators before they have to vote. Give us 30 days to do this. A 30-day public comment period should be a rule in the House and Senate. We the People should demand it, and it’s one of the policy ideas for the EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
Do you agree? They work for us. They should be accountable to us and nobody else. But it’s up to us to hold them accountable.
We the People are Sovereigns, not subjects. Let’s start acting like it.
JOIN US. CONTROL GOVERNMENT. BE FREE AND INDEPENDENT.
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