Calling on Transparency from the Obama Administration

Floor Speech

(Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, we're coming up on the 1-year anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

President Obama, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, repeatedly promised that this would be an open and transparent process. He acknowledged the people's right to know. In fact, he said over and over again, ``not negotiating behind closed doors but bringing all parties together so that the American people can see what the choices are.''

``So that the American people can see what the choices are.''

But instead of doing that, in May of 2009, a secret meeting of six special interest groups down at the White House. In September of that year, I began sending letters. In January of 2010, I filed a resolution of inquiry so we could see what went on in those meetings and what the deal was. But, unfortunately, we were shut down.

This year, now under new leadership of our Speaker and Chairman Upton of the Energy and Commerce Committee, once again we're asking the White House to voluntarily provide us that information. And what did they respond? They said it would be too ``vast and expensive.'' So they acknowledged the information is there; they just don't want to go get it.

Is this the type of transparency that the President campaigned on? I think not.

It's time for the White House to make those documents available to those of us in the House who have been asking for them for almost 2 years' time. Transparency is, indeed, a two-way street.

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