Louisiana Congressman Bill Cassidy made the following statement after signing a Discharge Petition to force a vote on H.Res. 847, a bill that would bring transparency to health care negotiations that are currently being held behind closed doors:

"What began as a conversation about how to make health care more affordable has morphed into dishonest game to pass something - anything at all - without regard for facts, consequences, or costs."

"If the Democratic Leadership were proud of this bill, if they thought it would actually lower costs and improve health care, they wouldn't want it to be a secret; they'd want every camera in Washington. By hiding behind closed doors, they are effectively asking the American people to swallow a bottle of pills now and read the label later."

Background

On eight separate occasions between November 27, 2007 and November 14, 2008, President Obama pledged that all health care reform negotiations would take place on CSPAN to make the debate, "transparent and accountable to the American people."

On December 30, 2009, C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb wrote to Congressional Leadership to, "respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American," and offered to, "commit the necessary resources to covering all of these sessions live and in their entirety."

In response, Speaker Pelosi denied Lamb's request for transparency, saying, "There are a number of things [President Obama] was for on the campaign trail."

The Discharge Petition is a rare procedural maneuver, which, when signed by a majority of the House, will force a vote on a bill the Speaker refuses to bring up for consideration. 158 members of the House, including Cassidy, are co-sponsors of H.Res. 847.

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