What are people saying about...
Mon, 01-11-10 - 4:55pm by Zakman
Should Health-Care Negotiations Be Broadcasted?
Throughout the 2008 Presidential Campaign, then Senator Barack Obama said that if he were elected, negotiations on health-care legislation would be broadcast on C-SPAN.
Well those negotiations are happening, but they're not being televised. So the question becomes "Should they be televised?"
On one hand, I want to say yes because Obama pledged that they would be, and I'd hate to see him remembered as a politician that doesn't keep his promises. Also, if the doors were opened, it would allow public opinion on health-care reform to be more clearly ascertained, and that's important because the public is the largest group that will be affected by health-care reform.
Yet if those doors were opened, the process of passing any health care legislation might slow significantly, which could--at the very least--keep millions of people from getting adequate treatment because of costly medications. Additionally, while there's still a lot to reconcile between the House and Senate versions of the bill, legislation is close to being passed. If the doors are opened to C-SPAN and America starts watching and calling their Congressional representatives, the rate at which the bill is negotiated could slow to almost a halt. If that happens, reform doesn't happen.
And that's what makes these calls to C-SPAN so curious. Does the general public really want to know what's going on inside the negotiating room, or does a certain sector of the public (in this case, mainly Conservatives) fear that health care reform is so imminent that they need to pick up their game in the last quarter by calling for C-SPAN to televise the negotiations? If it's the latter, then maybe the cries from the right are a massive red herring to distract legislators from combining two bills into one by making legislators listen--as they've done so much already--to what good ol' Americans have to say.
Well those negotiations are happening, but they're not being televised. So the question becomes "Should they be televised?"
On one hand, I want to say yes because Obama pledged that they would be, and I'd hate to see him remembered as a politician that doesn't keep his promises. Also, if the doors were opened, it would allow public opinion on health-care reform to be more clearly ascertained, and that's important because the public is the largest group that will be affected by health-care reform.
Yet if those doors were opened, the process of passing any health care legislation might slow significantly, which could--at the very least--keep millions of people from getting adequate treatment because of costly medications. Additionally, while there's still a lot to reconcile between the House and Senate versions of the bill, legislation is close to being passed. If the doors are opened to C-SPAN and America starts watching and calling their Congressional representatives, the rate at which the bill is negotiated could slow to almost a halt. If that happens, reform doesn't happen.
And that's what makes these calls to C-SPAN so curious. Does the general public really want to know what's going on inside the negotiating room, or does a certain sector of the public (in this case, mainly Conservatives) fear that health care reform is so imminent that they need to pick up their game in the last quarter by calling for C-SPAN to televise the negotiations? If it's the latter, then maybe the cries from the right are a massive red herring to distract legislators from combining two bills into one by making legislators listen--as they've done so much already--to what good ol' Americans have to say.
1 comment
Thu, 02-04-10 - 07:32 pm by KBenardello
People deserve the right to
People deserve the right to know what is going on with health care negoitations, as health care affects everyone. Also, the president stated they would be televised, and should be held to his promise. But law-makers may feel uncomfortable knowing the whole world is watching them while they vote on such an important issue.
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