Congressional leaders may dispense with the traditional House-Senate conference to reconcile the two chambers’ competing health care bills in favor of less formal negotiations. Whatever form the process takes, C-Span would like to be there. On December 30, C-Span CEO Brian Lamb sent a letter to Congressional leaders requesting that his network be able to provide live coverage of the negotiations. The congressional leadership has yet to respond. According to Politifact.com, during the presidential campaign, then-Senator Barack Obama repeatedly promised to allow C-Span coverage of negotiations over health care reform.
UPDATE: Conferences for highly contested bills may be a thing of the past.
“There has never been a more open process for any legislation,” according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Even if true, that would not be saying much. The Republicans did not set so high a bar. Also, TPM: “Oh, Snap!”
SECOND UPDATE: Igor Volsky of Think Progress thinks televising any House-Senate negotiations would bea bad idea and Ezra Klein is conflicted.
geokstr says:
Everyone now knows that all Obama promises came with very short expiration dates, and this one is long past.
And if Brian Lamb expects the Dems to let him within 7,000 lightyears of the reconciliation process, I’m going to contact him about that full-size international airport that serves three passengers a week in Murtha’s district, which is still available at a bargain price.
In 2047 we’ll probably still be uncovering the special deals that were written into this monstrosity with deliberately obtuse legalese to buy votes. You really think they want the public to know exactly how this reconciliation happens?
January 5, 2010, 2:28 pmCrunchy Frog says:
This sausage is something I wouldn’t feed to my cat. It would be interesting, though macabre, to see it made however.
January 5, 2010, 2:46 pmNunzio says:
Since Obama doesn’t control Congress, he really can’t be held to this promise.
He could allow C-Span or some other news network to televise the administration’s internal health-care negotiations, but it doesn’t look like he’ll do so.
January 5, 2010, 2:57 pmresh says:
If they’re allowed, better change the name to C-porn.
January 5, 2010, 3:44 pmARCraig says:
Stop confusing the Constitution with reality. Partisan politics undid this separation of powers long ago, so it’s rather absurd to now claim the President can’t be held accountable for the actions of his majority party in Congress.
January 5, 2010, 3:47 pmGuest101 says:
If you actually read the Politifact link, Obama was talking about televising the negotiations among health care interest groups as part of the process of drafting the initial bill. As far as I know that didn’t happen, but he’s clearly not talking about televising the reconciliation process. As was pointed out above, Obama has no authority to grant access to Congressional proceedings.
January 5, 2010, 4:13 pmbayareacon says:
Setting aside the actual contents of the campaign pledge, some reports suggest that the non-conference negotiation will be held in the White House. If that is so, couldn’t Obama say to Congress, “My house, my rules”?
January 5, 2010, 5:44 pmBrian K says:
Say it ain’t so!? A conservative mischaracterizing something a democrat said!? i never thought i’d live to see the day!!
heh.
January 5, 2010, 5:57 pmDaveM says:
Isn’t it strange how Obama always talks as if he, personally, will run the show, but when it comes down to it, he not only isn’t in charge, he seems barely to be involved. The lack of involvement isn’t over just the details of the planning — that’s to be expected of any executive — it’s over the plan, itself, along with all the details.
He keeps talking about “his” health care bill, and makes statements such as “95% of what I wanted is in the bill” (this to the Washington Post, two weeks ago.) But WHICH bill? There are hundreds of differences between even the House and Senate versions, many of them major (abortion, public option, etc.)
In his campaign promise for televising negotiations, he did the same thing again, telling people that he would bring people together, and personally supervise the negotiations out in the open. Frankly, I doubt that the President has even seen either of the bills. His promise for openness isn’t so much a broken one, as simply an empty one; a promise he never meant to keep.
So, we are left to wonder: What does Obama want? What is he actually for, or against?
Everything, and nothing, apparently.
January 5, 2010, 6:04 pmHouston Lawyer says:
I’m betting on another vote on something that no one outside the leadership is allowed to see prior to the vote.
I have never seen a legislature work so hard to pass something so unpopular.
All I’m interested in is how I get appointed to a death panel.
January 5, 2010, 6:30 pmSarcastro says:
Houston Lawyer, I’m pretty sure the key to death panel membership is from Chicago, the most evil city in the world!
I also think C-Span should totally televise the staffers running back and forth between Reid and Pelosi’s offices with notes. Riveting!
January 5, 2010, 7:44 pmChris Travers says:
I told a lot of folks that the way the bill was being made would create a bad solution. Now even most of the Obama-supporters I know agree with me. I would expect major shifts in control in Congress in 2010. Perhaps now is a good time to start talking to Republicans about reforming the health-care reform bill because the way things are going, they will have a veto-proof majority in both houses.
January 5, 2010, 8:21 pmgeokstr says:
And if I had the next several weeks to spend full-time linking to the times the left and their Lewinskys in the media, the blogosphere, and academia and leftist politicians mischaracterized, misquoted, twisted, lied about, and outright made up “quotes” from conservatives, the many thousands of links would only be enough to cover the last several weeks of their deliberate dishonesty, let alone the last couple generations that they’ve been doing it.
Another example of the total projection that the left uses to mask its own tactics.
January 5, 2010, 9:03 pmSarcastro says:
geokstr has it right. His side never spins or sins, or at least does so rarely. It is the opposition that does it all, and then they have the gall to accuse geokstr‘s side of spinning!
Total projection indeed!
January 5, 2010, 9:56 pmAndrew says:
Pelosi’s full quote, in all its splendor: “There has never been a more open process for any legislation in anyone who served here’s experiences.”
And this person is in charge of writing coherent legislation. We need public oversight if only for purposes of grammar.
January 6, 2010, 2:08 amChrisHo says:
As soon as Pelosi steps down from running Washington he can. Obama is more than willing to let Pelosi and Reid run the show as long as he can take credit for what he wants. It is like having someone else designated to spike the ball in the end zone other than the guy who gets it there.
January 6, 2010, 7:49 amegd says:
Actually, if you read the Politifact link, Obama said:
In this case, the “who” obviously refers to members of Congress, not health care interest groups.
And as you said, that didn’t happen. Reconciliation is still part of the negotiation over the health care bill, and I would expect the President to put pressure (as de facto party leader) on his party’s members of Congress.
That is, unless this President is nothing more than a figurehead for the Pelosi-Reid legislative agenda, which is becoming increasingly more likely.
January 6, 2010, 8:23 amgeokstr says:
You know, SirCastro, you get a bad rap from a lot of us right wingnut commenters. Actually, when read without any hint of the sarcasm you claim to be using, you’re pretty much right on.
I agree with you 100% that the left is the side most guilty of spinning and lying. Keep up the good work!
January 6, 2010, 9:49 amSarcastro says:
No no, geokstr! We can’t argue over which side spins more, that might end up being a matter of opinion! We need to be Xreme, and argue that one side spins vastly more than the other, ignore the paid spinmeisters on both sides and then put forth no evidence!
That way one side is all good and the other all evil. Otherwise, life might get complicated.
January 6, 2010, 12:01 pmAbdul Abulbul Amir says:
The reconciliation process will create the initial bill. It is starting from scratch. Everything that went before is all for show. There is no requirement that anything in the reconciled bill contain anything at all from the house or senate versions.
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March 24, 2010, 5:22 pm