Contact: Vaughn Jennings 202.225.2211

Washington, Oct 29 - Today, Congressman John Sullivan issued the following statement slamming the House Democrat leadership for working behind closed doors to strip his transparency amendment from the text of their 2,000 page government run healthcare proposal. During House Energy and Commerce Committee debate this summer, the Sullivan amendment was successfully adopted to H.R. 3200, on a bipartisan vote of 29-27.
  
Specifically, the Sullivan amendment would require the Health and Human Services Secretary to conduct a study on new and old programs affected by the legislation, to identify and ultimately eliminate healthcare program inefficiency and duplication.  An action that could save taxpayers billions of dollars at a time we need it most.  H.R. 3200 created at least 31 new federal programs and mandates and their new bill released today, based upon legislative actions taken in House Committees earlier this year, undoubtedly creates even more. With our nation experiencing record levels of debt, we need to be taking a hard look at waste and duplication in our government programs.

“If there is one thing a 2,000 page bill crafted behind closed doors need more of, its transparency and accountability.  My amendment was an honest, bipartisan attempt to bring down the cost of healthcare by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from the system.  By stripping this common sense language, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership are essentially saying they don’t see waste, fraud and abuse as a problem.  My Republican colleagues, the Democrats who crossed party lines to support my amendment and the American people who can’t afford to keep paying the skyrocketing cost of their healthcare strongly disagree.”

“House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called development of this bill the most deliberative, transparent and open process he had seen in his career on Capitol Hill, yet his party is deliberately going out of their way, behind closed doors, to eliminate transparency provisions that were already voted on and approved. The American people deserve better and it is a sad day for the democratic process.”