[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CAMERAS IN THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Americans nationwide are interested in 
watching the Supreme Court at work, but only a handful on any given day 
are allowed to have access to the courtroom. The courtroom is small and 
seating is limited. Well, why not give the public the ability to view 
the proceedings in their entirety on television or through live 
streaming?
  Public court hearings are the bedrock of American justice. Americans 
want to know what is going on behind those closed doors. A simple 
nonintrusive camera would allow for greater transparency and greater 
faith in the decisions made by the most powerful Court in the world.
  I was one of the first judges in Texas to allow cameras in the 
courtroom. All the naysayers said: oh, it won't work. But it did. It 
benefited everyone.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) and I are once again 
cosponsoring a bill to allow cameras in the Supreme Court. It is better 
to show all of the proceedings to the public than to rely on a 30-
second sound bite from a news reporter on television during the 6:00 
news. It is time for cameras in the Supreme Court.
  And that is just the way it is.

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