The following is cross-posted at www.fiscalaccountability.org:

Maybe they thought they could keep their plans buried under the snow that fell in Washington, DC over the last few days, but it appears their secret is out. 

Media reports indicate that in spite of all the solemn promises of a bipartisan and transparent dialogue on healthcare and the President’s explicit call for a bipartisan summit on the issue, a pre-negotiated backroom healthcare deal may be in the works.

According to Politico, walking into the bipartisan summit with such a pre-negotiated deal between Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would be the President’s preference, and, Congress Daily has reported on the procedural maneuvers Pelosi’s office is cooking up to accomplish such a deal.

House Republican Leaders John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mike Pence are rightfully concerned, and right on the money when they say (in a letter to House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Reid):

The existentence of any kind of backroom health care deal among the White House and Democratic leaders would certainly make a mockery of the President’s stated desire to have a "bipartisan" and "transparent" diaolgue on this issue.

In their letter, they demand that Pelosi and Reid

publicly disavow these reports and assure the American people that Democratic Leadership is not putting together any kind of backroom deal or plotting any kind of legislative trickery to pass it.

We’re very interested in the response, and you sure are, too.