[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8535]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY

  (Mr. QUIGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, the public's trust in government is near an 
all-time low. According to a recent CBS/New York Times survey, only 19 
percent of the people said they trust the government to do what is 
right. This deficit of trust is not inconsequential. Without the 
public's trust, we cannot effectively govern; but we can rebuild this 
lost confidence by opening up the government and making its inner 
workings more transparent.
  I recently introduced H.R. 4983, the Transparency in Government Act, 
a bill that calls for unprecedented government transparency. H.R. 4983 
increases disclosures from lobbyists and lawmakers, creates the first 
centralized earmark database, and improves oversight of Federal 
contracts.
  As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said: Sunlight is the best of 
disinfectants. And at a time when the public's trust in government is 
perilously low, we could use a bit of sunlight.
  And go, Black Hawks.

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