Letter to Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader Boehner

Letter

Today, Paul Hodes called on Congressional leaders to have an open debate as they begin to craft their final Wall Street reform proposals. As Wall Street's high paid lobbyists descend on Washington, Hodes is calling on Congress to conduct its negotiations so that they are accountable to the middle class families who've been hurt by Wall Street excess.

"In order to crack down on Wall Street's most dangerous practices, it is important for middle class families to be involved and see exactly what is being discussed," said Hodes. "In New Hampshire, we have a proud tradition of citizen involvement with our government. In order to bring that level of accountability to Washington, Congress should debate this reform in public."

In a letter to both Democratic and Republican leaders, Paul Hodes has called for negotiations to craft a final Wall Street reform proposal to be conducted in view of the public.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader Boehner,

I am writing in support of making any conference committee on financial regulatory reform open and viewable by the public. As we work to protect hardworking families from the reckless behavior of Wall Street, it is critical that we give those families an open and transparent process.

Risky actions by Wall Street banks caused incredible hardships for many middle class families. It is imperative that we show Americans that we are working for them, and that we continue to provide access to this important legislative step in financial regulatory reform.

Citizens who wish to become involved with the actions of their government should be able to see and hear what is happening on important issues that affect their lives. We must make sure that middle class families, and not Wall Street's lobbyists, have the tools to hold their government accountable for reining in the abusive Wall Street practices that continue to hurt the Granite State's small business- driven economy.

By allowing Americans continued access to the legislative process, we will be standing up for the basic principles of our democracy -- access to an open and honest government. As the financial regulatory reform legislation moves to conference, I urge you to make sure that there is continued public access to our legislative system.

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