Louisville, NY Rebublican Committee Chair to Gillibrand, Schumer and McHugh: Time for Real Transparency Legislation
In letters to Senators Gillibrand and Schumer – as well as to Congressman John McHugh – Nancy Foster, Chairwoman of the Lousiville Republican Committee is urging new laws on legislative accountability and transparency. The text of that letter follows:
Along with millions of other Americans we were absolutely appalled that our government representatives voted on the $787 billion dollar American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 (stimulus bill) without personally reading the legislation in its entirety. We have since learned that it is not uncommon for our elected officials to vote on bills they have not personally read. Instead, they rely on staff recommendations and committee reports. No matter how dire our circumstances seem to be, members of Congress cannot abdicate their responsibility to their staff or committees.
The American public has become increasingly frustrated with a government whose rhetoric does not match its actions. We were promised transparency but have gotten a maze of convoluted trails that seem to be contrived to bar the public from following how, where, and when our tax dollars are being spent.
Not only is legislation rarely open for public scrutiny before it is voted on, it is written in legal language and references volumes of material not provided to the public when they are able to view a bill.
Although President Obama promised he would “…not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days” that has not happened. Government is losing the trust of the American people. You can help ebb that trend by authoring and supporting a bill that will guarantee, except in cases of extreme national security emergencies:
1. The distribution of all legislation to the members of Congress seven days prior to a vote on said legislation.
2. The posting of all legislation, including references, to an internet site accessible to the public at the same time it is distributed to the members of Congress. Such posting shall also include a straightforward summary of the major points of the bill.
3. No last minute additions or changes shall be made to pending legislation without providing members of Congress and the public an additional seven days for review of the proposed additions or changes.
4. Most Americans view the practice of inserting identity free earmarks in the dead of night as unacceptable cowardly acts unworthy of our government representatives. All legislation must mandate author identification of all earmarks.
The American taxpayer needs reassurance that our government representatives are working on their behalf. Authoring and supporting a bill which includes the above components would be a very positive step in regaining an ebbing trust.
Given Obama’s own promises while on the campaign trail, and an out-of-control Congress, this is common sense legislation that every New Yorker — and every American — should not merely request of their representatives, but demand. It is high time we remind our legislators who they work for. They don’t work for the President, and they don’t work for the DNC, or George Soros, or Moveon.org. They work for us. For Americans. Americans who are sick of the mountains of waste and debt being laid at the feet of our children.
The concepts contained in this letter are not partisan in nature. Every Legislative session, whether run by Republicans or Democrats, ought to follow the rules outlined here. And every voter – whether Republican, Democrat, Green or Libertarian — should expect nothing less from their representatives.
Remember, we’re not asking for anything that wasn’t promised by Candidate Obama before his election. It’s time to hold our leaders accountable. Call your represetatives, and demand this legislation.
Senator Gillibrand’s Albany District Office: (518) 431-0120
Senator Schumer’s Albany Office: (518) 431-4070,
Congressman McHugh’s Watertown Office: (315) 782-3150.
I am a local DJ here in St. Lawrence County, NY. My wife's name is Melanie, and we have four children.
Welcome to USAspending.gov – Where Americans Can See Where Their Money Goes
http://www.usaspending.gov/
The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB) is responsible for overseeing all funds under the Recovery Act and providing the public with a direct and immediate link to spending through Recovery.gov. The RATB not only wants to provide the public with unprecedented oversight of Recovery Act funds, but also ensure swift and immediate action to prevent fraud, waste, and mismanagement.
http://www.recovery.gov/
And these are positive steps for the government to take. However, this is after the fact, and actually does not give the public ANY oversight; merely allows us to see what’s being done. Oversight, in general, gives the power to do something about misuse. And when the WHOLE BILL is a misuse of the taxpayers’ money, the oversight is pretty meaningless.
What we’re talking about here is allowing legislatures enough time to actually read the bills before they pass — and to allow the public time to review the same bills and contact their representatives with concerns.
“Oversight, in general, gives the power to do something about misuse. And when the WHOLE BILL is a misuse of the taxpayers’ money, the oversight is pretty meaningless.”
The ballot box is the public’s oversight. Do YOU really think they would want any comment that you or I have to say? These people don’t work for the likes of you and me. They work for those that paid for their assent to office. Oh, there may be one or two who might be interested in us but only one or two.
“The ballot box is the public’s oversight.” Partly.
You make my point for me, I think.
These people DO work for the likes of you and me. Whether or not they recognize that is part of the issue here. A big part of this letter by Mrs. Foster, a big part of the nationwide tea parties, was about reminding these career politicians exactly by whom they are employed.
The government is made for the people, not the people for the government. We do not exist to serve their interests, nor to fund through taxation whatever dumbass idea they might happen to come up with.
When a few Legislators force through an 11,000-word bill with less than a day to read it before calling a vote, that is a profound act of neglect and of professional misconduct — and frankly, it smacks of corruption. That a majority in the Legislature voted “aye” anyway is, I think, an indicator of exactly how deep that corruption runs.
Personally, I would advocate the ouster of anyone who voted for it. Anyone.
OMB Watch Applauds Obama Administration’s Step Forward on Open Government
http://www.ombwatch.org/node/10035
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2009—On Jan. 21, President Barack Obama issued a memo about the Open Government Directive. The memo gave the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) 120 days to develop recommendations for the directive. This effort has taken a slightly different direction that is encouraging collaboration and public engagement.
On May 21, the 120-day mark, the Office of Science and Technology Policy posted a notice in the Federal Register asking for ideas from the public on possible recommendations for the Open Government Directive that Obama tasked them to produce. The deadline for public comments, however, is June 19, apparently extending the May 20 deadline for official recommendations from the CTO. The administration also took additional efforts toward government openness:
* The new Open Government Initiative homepage on the White House website, http://www.whitehouse.gov/open, features the announcement of the new public participation process; links to a brainstorming site (see below); and an innovation gallery of transparency, participation, and collaboration improvements.
* The Open Government Brainstorm site, opengov.ideascale.com, run by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), provides the ability to submit, comment on, and vote for open government directive ideas in all three categories – transparency, participation, and collaboration – from May 21 to May 28.
* The open government “From the Inbox” page, http://www.ostp.gov/cs/opengov/from-the-inbox/, hosted by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, features recommendations and communications for the Open Government Directive that the administration has received over the last few months. The government has not yet placed the ideas in these documents on the brainstorming site for reactions, so it is probably incumbent upon submitters to do so.
* The Federal Register notice, at edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-12026.htm, of the new public process for input into the open government directive. Very basic and generic, the notice points those interested to the new White House site but also provides e-mail and mailing addresses for comments.
* The administration also announced yesterday the launch of Data.gov and a comments process for Regulations.gov.
Reversing the entrenched culture of government secrecy is a challenging task for any administration. Some government openness advocates had hoped the process would be further along by this point, but many also understand that the process was delayed by the late appointment of the CTO. The right-to-know community is pleased that the Obama administration is creating an opportunity for public involvement before all the policy decisions are already made.
OMB Watch Executive Director Gary D. Bass commented, “We are hopeful that the participatory process the government has launched will lead to better outcomes.”
you DO understand that this doesn’t cover the concerns in the letter, right?
Are you opposed to this legislation?
For eight years no one had time to read any of the Bush legislation. We committed ourselves to an unending war costing in excess of $600 billion. http://zfacts.com/p/447.html They were also allowed to change banking rules that got us into this financial mess.
Our young soldiers have died during the Bush fiasco of lies, that is something that needs a letter!
I don’t remember Ms. Foster ever writing a letter to our Senators during the blackout of the Bush years. If she did, I’ll be happy to address her comments. She is just whining because she can’t find anything else. The deficit is a direct result of years of over spending by Republicans, not this administration. Wars to secure pipelines of gas and oil, for private companies is NOT the business of government. If they can’t secure their own interests; we should not be sending our soldiers to do it. Everyone knows that is why we had oil men running the country for the last two sessions. Look at the tax dollars that have gone to PRIVATE Corporations to build PRIVATE militaries. No where in the Constitution does it even hint that we are to pay taxes to build private militarys for private companies. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Mercenaries/BushShadowArmy_Blackwater.html
I suspect you don’t know what a true conservative is. A conservative does not do Nation Building, no does it use tax money to prop up failing corporations.
Also, the privatization of the armed forces does nothing but quadruple the cost of military operations with no real benefits for anybody, except those who are getting rich at the prospect of killing. Private contractors in defense right now have so much money, they actually don’t know how to spend it. My friend just told me that his son who is a contractor in Arlington asked his dad how his company could spend the money they had, because if they don’t spend it all they will get less next year. His father, my friend, was in the diplomatic core and I guess he thought that his dad would know.
You need to stop listening to corporate news and find Real News
Oh, good. So now we’ve gone completely off topic and retreated to BushLied(tm).
Nah. Take that somewhere else. I don’t have time for Soros talking points.