Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., put their weight behind an amendment today that would change Senate rules to increase transparency in the halls of Congress.
The amendment, which is identical to a stand-alone resolution the members cosponsored this week, requires every piece of legislation in the Senate to be available to the public and provide a full cost analysis by the Congressional Budget Office three days before consideration by any subcommittee or committee of the Senate or on the floor of the Senate. Unfortunately, the Democratic leadership used a procedural motion to block consideration of the amendment on the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill currently being debated in the Senate.
“This is a no-brainer that both parties should support. Voting on a bill without having ample time to see the legislative text is like reading a novel with chapter outlines and no actual sentences. Without details, things can be interpreted completely different depending on who is reading it. With legislative language the intent is more clear,” said Enzi.
“People in Wyoming are demanding to know what Washington is spending their money on. They deserve that right. Hardworking Americans have footed the bill to bail out banks. They have seen billions of dollars flushed away in the stimulus package and enormous increases in welfare payments,” Barrasso said. “This bill is about letting folks know what is going on. It is about the transparency and accountability of Congress.”
During the Finance Committee consideration of the health care bill, Enzi voted in favor of an amendment that would have required the legislative language of that bill to be made publically available with a cost analysis for at least 72 hours before the Committee could vote on the passage of the bill. Unfortunately, that amendment failed by one vote.
While the Senators are disappointed that efforts to increase transparency have not yet been successful, they vowed to continue fighting to move this issue forward and will be pushing the resolution throughout this session.
The amendment, which is identical to a stand-alone resolution the members cosponsored this week, requires every piece of legislation in the Senate to be available to the public and provide a full cost analysis by the Congressional Budget Office three days before consideration by any subcommittee or committee of the Senate or on the floor of the Senate. Unfortunately, the Democratic leadership used a procedural motion to block consideration of the amendment on the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill currently being debated in the Senate.
“This is a no-brainer that both parties should support. Voting on a bill without having ample time to see the legislative text is like reading a novel with chapter outlines and no actual sentences. Without details, things can be interpreted completely different depending on who is reading it. With legislative language the intent is more clear,” said Enzi.
“People in Wyoming are demanding to know what Washington is spending their money on. They deserve that right. Hardworking Americans have footed the bill to bail out banks. They have seen billions of dollars flushed away in the stimulus package and enormous increases in welfare payments,” Barrasso said. “This bill is about letting folks know what is going on. It is about the transparency and accountability of Congress.”
During the Finance Committee consideration of the health care bill, Enzi voted in favor of an amendment that would have required the legislative language of that bill to be made publically available with a cost analysis for at least 72 hours before the Committee could vote on the passage of the bill. Unfortunately, that amendment failed by one vote.
While the Senators are disappointed that efforts to increase transparency have not yet been successful, they vowed to continue fighting to move this issue forward and will be pushing the resolution throughout this session.
