C-SPAN asks Democrats to open health reform conference negotiations

C-SPAN has asked congressional Democrats to open to the public the conference negotiations on reconciling the two health care reform bills, Politico reports.

"C-SPAN chief executive Brian Lamb … requested opening up 'all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage.'" He told lawmakers in a letter dated Dec. 30 that they have spoken of transparency in discussions in the past and that they should allow it now (Calderone, 1/5).

In a separate story, Politico reports that Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the House minority leader, has "used the opportunity to hammer Democrats for breaking their campaign promises to bring more transparency to Congress. … '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,'" Boehner wrote.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Reid has not yet responded to C-SPAN (Frates, 1/5).

Finally, The Associated Press reports that President Barack Obama "pledged during a presidential debate in January 2008 that he would be 'bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are'" (1/5).  

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.