C-SPAN Asks to Televise Health Care Negotiations

Just before New Year’s, C-SPAN Chairman and CEO Brian Lamb sent a letter to Congressional leadership, requesting permission to televise negotiations around the final health care reform legislation. The letter was addressed to Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), GOP Leader Rep. John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and GOP Senate Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

The letter notes:

Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you all the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every American.

C-SPAN Health Care Letter –

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, then-candidate Obama promised to do exactly this; televise the negotiations on C-SPAN. From a debate in January 2008:

That’s what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process.

And at a town hall meeting in August 2008:

But what we will do is, we’ll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process.

Of course, just days after receiving the offer from C-SPAN, Democrats resumed private negotiations behind close doors:

Congressional Democrats are embarking on an abbreviated negotiation to save Reid the hassle of overcoming more procedural hurdles, but that means the resulting negotiations will be held behind closed-doors as the various stakeholders push for final changes. Liberal Democrats in the House have taken exception with the revised process, but most aides argue a drawn-out conference negotiation would give Senate Republicans too many opportunities to derail the process.