Friday, March 23, 2007


Another Broken Promise...
Democrats Have a Difficult Time with the Truth...When it Comes to Transparency

Washington, DC – Rep. Tom Price (GA-06-R) issued the following statement today after Democrats met in the early morning hours yesterday to pass legislative rules out of committee.

The Promise:

    "We are going to adopt rules that make the system of legislation transparent so that we don't legislate in the dark of night, and the public and other members can see what is being done.” – Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Source: Washington Times, 11/25/06)

    "How many times have you heard of a special-interest provision that was slipped into a bill in the dark of the night or a 1,000-page bill that no one was given time to read before voting on it?" – Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Source: Copley News Service, 1/26/2006)

The Reality:

    In a clear sign of disorganization and uncertainty, the Democrats did not bother to convene the Committee on Rules until eight o’clock Wednesday evening. Debating well into the night, the majority party only notified the rest of Congress thirty minutes after midnight regarding what rules today’s important legislation would be subjected to. Consequently, the committee produced two closed rules that stifled the ability for any contribution by the minority. Such late notification hampers the ability of all members of Congress to properly address the rules and the legislation during debate.

“The majority continues to act as if they are somehow exempt from the very standards they promised the American people,” said Price. “While Americans were sleeping, the committee which creates rules under which legislation is debated decided to convene and work late into the night only to release its decisions after midnight.”

“If ever there were an operation under the cover of darkness, the majority has certainly shown us one. The American people deserve a Congress that operates in an organized and open fashion. Convening committees late into the evening is either an attempt to shadow the proceedings or a complete lack of competence.”

The Solution:

    Positive, Principled, Solution-Oriented Leadership

Democrat Broken Promise Meter: 24

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