By Rep. Steve Austria
House and Senate Democratic leadership continue to negotiate health care reform in an attempt to reconcile the differences between the house-passed and senate-passed versions. Recently, the President of C-SPAN, Brian Lamb, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting that they be allowed to televise the current negotiations, which will decide the ultimate fate of the legislation. House and Senate Democratic leadership largely denied the request.
The potential passage of health care reform has widespread implications for all Americans and it is imperative that these negotiations are not done behind closed doors. The American people and Members of Congress need to have access to the talks so they can adequately evaluate the merits of the bill.