Top House Republicans are annoyed that the White House provided its internal health care reform memos to The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza for an article when they’ve long been pushing to get their hands on them.
Three high-ranking Energy & Commerce Republicans — Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI), Joe Pitts (R-PA), Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) — released the statement below, also sent in a letter to top White House officials, demanding the memos by February 1.
“The White House has consistently refused our legitimate requests for information regarding this important piece of legislation, notwithstanding the fact that the President promised many times during the 2008 presidential campaign that the meetings and debates on any health care legislation would be broadcast to the public, and once in office promised to run the most open and transparent administration in history.
“It is outrageous that despite our multiple efforts to obtain information about the negotiations and deals entered into by the White House, Congress has only been provided with material previously made publicly available, while the administration selectively provides such information to The New Yorker.
“Finally, while the White House has so far studiously avoided asserting executive privilege and has simply refused to provide the requested information, by voluntarily providing this information to a reporter the White House has waived any right to refuse production of these materials based on claims of privilege. The White House should provide these documents to Congress immediately.”
House and Senate Republicans frequently needle the White House on transparency with regard to health care.
