[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[HOUS]
[Page 25236]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        AMERICA'S RIGHT TO KNOW

  (Mr. BUCHANAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, the State of Florida leads the Nation with 
one of the toughest right-to-know laws in the country. Florida's strong 
Sunshine Law guards against back-room deals and secret negotiation by 
government officials. Democracy thrives best when the people are fully 
involved and engaged.
  Along these lines, I've introduced a resolution demanding that the 
critical decisions made on the sweeping health care reform bill now 
before Congress be conducted under the watchful eye of the American 
people. My resolution puts the House on record against secret, closed-
door deals on a health care bill that seeks to overhaul one-sixth of 
our country's entire economy. In the past, massive legislative measures 
have been written in the middle of the night by a handful of Members 
and staff and then quickly passed into law before the American people 
have had a chance to even see what the final version looks like, let 
alone determine how they feel about it.
  It's time for Congress to follow Florida's lead and ensure that any 
conference committee meeting on health care reform be conducted in the 
light of day and under full public view. I hope Members on both sides 
of the aisle will cosponsor this important right-to-know measure and 
join me in this effort.

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