House Democrats have reacted to C-SPAN’s request to film health care negotiations today, contending that the debate has been extremely open thus far. House Minority Leader John Boehner has also responded, embracing the request and using it to attack the Dems.
Asked about the letter at a press conference today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “There has never been a more open process for any piece of legislation.”
She also took a shot at President Obama when asked about his campaign promise to conduct a more transparent government.
“There are a number of things he was for on the campaign trail,” she said to laughter.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, also spoke at the presser.
“The health care debate in this piece of legislation has been subjected to an unprecedented level of public scrutiny and input,” Van Hollen said. He also listed the hours of public and televised debate from committee hearings and the House and Senate floors.
Boehner, not surprisingly, had a different take.
“As House Republican Leader, I can confidently state that all House Republicans strongly endorse your proposal and stand ready to work with you to make it a reality,” he wrote in a letter to C-SPAN’s president, Brian Lamb.
“Unfortunately, the President, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Reid now intend to shut out the American people at the most critical hour by skipping a bipartisan conference committee and hammering out a final health care bill in secret,” he continued.
Lamb had written a letter last week to Pelosi and Boehner, as well as the party leaders in the Senate, asking to film and broadcast negotiations as the House and Senate try to merge their health care bills.
Late update: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has also responded to the C-SPAN letter through a spokesman, saying he “appreciates C-SPAN’s commitment to ensuring transparency” and taking a shot at Republicans.
“What should truly concern the American people is the Republicans’ shamelessly transparent strategy to stop reform at all costs by relying on misinformation and myths. Their ploys are broadcast on C-SPAN for all of America to see, as much of it happens on the Senate floor,” wrote the spokesman, Jim Manley.
