C-SPAN’s Lamb to Congress: Open Health Care Debate
by Michael Calderone
C-SPAN chief executive Brian Lamb, who has long fought for more television access in Congress, is now asking House and Senate leadership to allow cameras inside while members hammer out differences between the two health care bills.
Lamb, in a letter dated Dec. 30 and made available today, requested opening up “all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage”
President Obama, Senate and House leaders, many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation’s editorial pages have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation’s health care system. Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American.
The C-SPAN networks, he wrote, are willing to commit the necessary resources to cover sessions live and would offer the network’s multi-camera feed to those in the Capitol Hill broadcast pool.
Lamb’s full letter to Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner after the jump.
December 30, 2009The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable Harry Reid Speaker Majority Leader United States House or Representatives United States Senate
The Honorable John Boehner The Honorable Mitch McConnell Minority Leader Minority Leader United States House of Representatives United States Senate
Dear Speaker Pelosi: Representative Boehner:
Senator Reid: Senator McConnell:As your respective chambers work to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate health care bills, C-SPAN requests that you open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage.
The C-SPAN networks will commit the necessary resources to covering all of these sessions LIVE and in their entirety. We will also, as we willingly do each day, provide C-SPAN’s multi-camera coverage to any interested member of the Capitol Hill broadcast pool.
Since the initial introduction of the America’s Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 in the House and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the Senate C-SPAN has televised literally hundreds of hours of committee hearings, mark ups and floor debate on these bills for the public to see. And importantly, we have archived all of this video for future generations to study in the C-SPAN Video Archives.
President Obama, Senate and House leaders, many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation’s editorial pages have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation’s health care system. Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American.
We hope you will give serious consideration to this request. We are most willing to employ the latest digital technology to make the cameras, lights and microphones as unobtrusive as possible.
Please contact me if I can answer any questions.
Sincerely,
Brian Lamb
© 2010 Capitol News Company LLC
Lamb made a good point don’t you think? Isn’t it a shame that he has to ask for what Obama promised while he was campaigning for our vote?
And isn’t it a shame that he has been shunned for it?
Dear Ross,
Thank you for your comment and the questions you brought up.
I have always watched C-span and am grateful that we have a chance to watch what goes on in both the House and Senate. I thought Lamb made a very good point and I am proud of him. He is a man of courage, truth, and strength. I wish we had more men in this country who had the same moral backbone as Brain Lamb does. If we had more men who had the courage to stand for what is right than we might just actually be able to win the battle that needs to be fought in this country.
I didn’t vote for Obama because he didn’t earn my respect or vote. I don’t vote for someone because I think he is handsome or everyone else does or I like his campaign slogans better. I vote for the man on if he is honest and tells the truth. When Obama went back on his word about FISA I knew he was a man who couldn’t be trusted to tell the American people the truth. Lying is a big problem with men and women who serve in public office and that is one reason why Americans have little or no respect for those who serve in government. He had very little voting record because he voted present alot of the times. He didn’t finish even one term of the Senate and I felt he didn’t have what it takes to do what needed to be done. Like many Greens I think that both the Democratic and Republican parties are to blame for what is going on today and why our Democratic Republic is at a crisis point. Both parties have been corrupted and because of their greed have become a government that is the best the money can buy, but doesn’t represent the American people. Our political process has been corrupted and unless we get real election campaign reform I don’t hold much hope that there will be real change.
Obama told a lot of lies to get elected. He has the far left progressives who think he is spineless. He has the far right who hate him because of the color of his skin. 2010 may be the year that many of the youth who voted for him with such high hopes will either stay home or vote for a third party like my party the Green Party. I think we (the people) need to do some deep housecleaning this year and vote out all those who are part of the problem and vote in new people who are not corrupted yet. We need to vote in fresh blood and make our voices heard that if they become corrupted than they will be voted out too. That we the American people will not tolerate anymore lying from our government. That we want the truth!!!!!! That if they lie to get elected than they are voted out the next election. We the American people need to develop more moral backbone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do not think it is right how Brian Lamb has been treated. Yet, I also know that a man like Brian Lamb is made stronger by the struggles and battles that all of us face in this life. He did the right thing. It doesn’t matter if President Obama has people shun Brian because he is an honest man who is doing his job as a member of the press; it will make Brian stronger and more determine to do the morally right thing for this nation. We need to have more people in the press and media do what Brian has done and make President Obama give an account of why he has broken so many promises he made to the American people.
I would love to go back to school and study journalism or Law. We need to have journalists who have the courage of Brian Lamb. In the long run I don’t think this is going to hurt Brian Lamb. I think in the long run he will gain the respect of not only his fellow journalists but of the American people.