Friday, April 3, 2009

Democrats Oppose Transparency

All but three Senate Democrats voted against an amendment, "To increase transparency by requiring five days of public review of legislation before passage by the Senate." This simply states that bills that are rushed through the Senate would have to garner 60 votes only if they had not been posted online for five days. The irony of the Democrat's opposition is this measure is taken directly from the Obama presidential campaign. President Obama promised more transparency in the government by posting bills online for citizens to review prior to a vote. Apparently all Democratic Senators except, Senators Bayh, Nelson, and McCaskill disagree with this increased transparency. This measure doesn't exclude a majority vote on any bill it simply protects against slipping measures into a bill without an adequate review, a protection against situations like the AIG bonus fiasco. It would be interesting to hear the individual Senator's reasons for opposing transparency, and if the President is planning to stick to his campaign promise of putting bills online for review prior to a vote.

More information on the Cornyn Transparency Amendment

Democrats Vote Against Transparency

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Purple People Vote

Broad Side of the Barn - An Independent Call



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