Posted: 06/25/2009
This Is "transparency??!!"
NCPA Expert Says Congress Should Hold Public Hearings Before Voting on Climate Bill
Dallas (June 25, 2009) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to vote on the 1,201-page climate change bill, without making the public aware of the details or allowing them to have input with hearings, clearly contradicts the Obama Administration's claim that they would be "transparent" in their leadership, according to NCPA Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett.
"The Democratic leadership promised that bipartisanship and transparency would be their hallmark," Burnett says, "yet they have not reached out to Republicans for input on this bill, and they do not want to hold hearings or even present the final language of the bill for a full reading and review of its provisions before the House votes on Friday."
"Speaker Pelosi and the Obama Administration are putting partisan politics above the public good on this bill; otherwise they would have a full and open debate," Burnett added.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) put the Obama Administration's commitment to transparent government to the test by offering an amendment that would require full disclosure of any cost increases due to the climate change bill. Apparently, Democrats feared that the electoral price of honesty might be too high since they rejected the amendment, according to Burnett.
"Once each legislator has had time to read and review the full bill and Congress holds public hearings with invited testimony, if Congress still thinks that raising taxes on the poorest among us during a recession by passing the climate tax bill, then they can vote on it," Burnett says. "Let's not rush to a decision on this. Even the Obama Administration admits that they don't really need anything before international negotiations begin on a new climate treaty in December. Let's take our time and get it right."