The following is cross-posted at www.fiscalaccountability.org:
CFA and ATR sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi today urging her to post the full text of the House healthcare bill she is planning to unveil tomorrow along with the final cost estimate for at least five full consecutive days (excluding holidays and weekends) online in a searchable form (no image pdf!) before any further action.
From our letter:
Taxpayers, who ultimately pick up the tab for every bill Congress passes, deserve greater accountability than they have recently been provided with. From the way the “stimulus” package was passed to the way healthcare negotiations are currently being led behind closed doors – taxpayers deserve better, especially from a Speaker of the House who once pledged to make Congress under your leadership the “most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress.”On behalf of taxpayers, we urge you to make the full text of the House health bill along with the final CBO score for this version available for public online review at your earliest convenience tomorrow, and for a minimum of five full consecutive days (excluding weekends and holidays) in a searchable form before moving the bill further.While we appreciate the current 72-hour campaign, we feel that time frame should only be a floor. Given the size and scope of this package, and given the impact this piece of legislation would have on all American taxpayers, more time to review both the legislative language and the final cost estimate should be allotted. Congress should take its time to weigh all its decisions carefully, while seeking more input from the public, who should be given the opportunity to partake in political discourse.