Moran To Democrats: 'Don't Shut The American People Out Of Health Care Reform'

Statement

Congressman Jerry Moran today commented on plans by the White House and Democratic congressional leaders to negotiate final health care legislation behind closed doors. Foreseeing this problem, in October Moran sponsored H. Res. 847, legislation insisting that any conference committee or meetings held to determine the final content of national health care legislation be conducted in public under the watchful eye of the American people.

"During his campaign, President Obama stressed transparency and accountability in the health care debate," Moran said. "He vowed to have all the negotiations televised on C-SPAN before the eyes of the American people. Last week, the CEO of C-SPAN, Brian Lamb, called on Democratic leaders to honor the President's promise. However, it appears that the transparency the President promised us is nowhere to be found as Democrats plan to skip a real, open conference process to negotiate differences in health care reform legislation and merge the bills behind closed doors in secret. I am outraged by this decision because, in these closed offices, the future of health care for Kansans will be decided. I have traveled across the state and have heard the worries of many Kansans. They are concerned about their health care and about the future of our state and country. Kansans and all Americans deserve to know what their representatives are voting on, and they deserve the assurance that their business will be conducted in a deliberate and open way."

Moran is Chairman of the House Rural Health Care Coalition and co-founder of the Congressional Community Pharmacy Coalition.

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