Congressman Tom O’Halleran introduced a resolution last week to end secret closed-door dealmaking and promote transparency in Washington by requiring bill text to be posted at least three days before the committee markup process.
“It is past time for Congress to take transparency seriously. Washington is broken and the American people are fed up. Legislation like the American Health Care Act should not be drafted in secret with special interests while the American people are left in the dark,” said O’Halleran. “This proposal brings legislating out from behind closed doors and gives members of Congress and the public more time to review bills.”
O’Halleran’s resolution requires the text of legislation to be made publicly available in electronic form at least 72 hours before the markup begins in the committee. Current house rules only require committee chairs to post the text 24 hours in advance.
“I made a commitment to my constituents to hold Washington accountable,” continued O’Halleran. “This commonsense change will allow us to do our job and fully understand how legislation will affect our communities.”
The recently released Republican health care replacement bill was drafted in closed-door meetings and released less than 48 hours before committee markup was set to begin in the Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee.