Media

February 10, 2009

ENSIGN: STIMULUS CONFERENCE NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD BE TELEVISED


Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today called for the final negotiations on the stimulus bill to be televised.  With passage today, the stimulus bill now goes to a Conference Committee where the House and Senate work out the differences in the two bills. 
 
“The American people want transparency,” said Ensign, Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in the Senate.  “It should probably be standard practice for these to be televised, but they especially should be when you are talking about a bill that spends more than a trillion dollars.”
 
No rules prevent Congressional Democrats from allowing the Conference Committee to be televised.  A Conference Committee takes place when the House and Senate pass bills that are not identical.  During the Conference Committee, the two chambers work out the differences and send one identical bill back to each legislative body for a final vote. 
 
“For too long, these Conference Committees have been the smoke-filled backrooms that frustrate the American people,” said Ensign.  “Let’s have this debate in public so that every American can watch and decide on the merits whether they support this legislation.”
 
 
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February 2009 Press Releases

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