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Thank You Letter
Dear Senator,
Thank you for supporting more openness in the Senate Armed
Services Committee (SASC) when you voted last year against closing the markup
of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the public.
We, too, are concerned that the Pentagon budget bill—a bill
that last year authorized more than $662 billion in spending—is drafted mostly
behind closed doors and debated by the committee in secret.
The public has a right to know how Congress is conducting
the people’s business, particularly when so many taxpayer dollars and important
wide-ranging policies are at stake. Moreover,
as you know, the NDAA has become one of the few bills passed annually by
Congress and thus has become a magnet for a host of other proposals, some of which
traditionally would be considered by other committees—and some have been very
controversial. And yet the SASC does not disclose the draft bill and amendments
in advance of voting on the bill, and instead it closes debate and negotiations
to the public.
It’s time to bring the NDAA into the light of day.
All congressional committee hearings and votes should be
conducted in accordance with our country’s highest principles of transparency
and openness and made accessible to the public. Certainly, there are special
exceptions when a committee can and should move to closed session to consider classified
information, but this step should be taken only in specific instances where
needed. The general rule should be open government.
As you know, it is the practice of most other committees not
only to open their markups, but also to webcast them and share the text of the
legislation in advance of voting. Notably, the House Armed Services Committee
does so when its members debate, amend, and vote on the NDAA.
We agree with you that the SASC ought to be able to do the
same. In fact, last year, Senator McCaskill held her subcommittee’s vote on the
NDAA in the open. We hope that the other SASC subcommittee chairs will do likewise
this year.
Again, we thank you and the bipartisan group of eight other committee
members who voted for more openness and democracy. We hope that you will join
us in urging Chairman Levin and the other committee members to vote against
closing the markup of the NDAA this year and to post the draft bill and
amendments online in advance of voting.
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Do the Right Thing Letter
Dear Senator,
We urge you to support more openness in the Senate Armed
Services Committee (SASC) and vote against closing the markup of the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the public.
We are concerned that the Pentagon budget bill—a bill that
last year authorized more than $662 billion in spending—is drafted mostly
behind closed doors and debated by the committee in secret.
The public has a right to know how Congress is conducting
the people’s business, particularly when so many taxpayer dollars and important
wide-ranging policies are at stake. Moreover,
as you know, the NDAA has become one of the few bills passed annually by
Congress and thus has become a magnet for a host of other proposals, some of
which traditionally would be considered by other committees—and some have been very
controversial. And yet the SASC does not disclose the draft bill and amendments
in advance of voting on the bill, and instead it closes debate and negotiations
to the public.
It’s time to bring the NDAA into the light of day.
All
congressional committee hearings and votes should be conducted in accordance
with our country’s highest principles of transparency and openness and made
accessible to the public. Certainly, there are special exceptions when a
committee can and should move to closed session to consider classified
information, but this step should be taken only in specific instances where
needed. The general rule should be open government.
As you know, it is the practice of most other committees not
only to open their markups, but also to webcast them and share the text of the
legislation in advance of voting. Notably, the House Armed Services Committee
does so when its members debate, amend, and vote on the NDAA. The SASC ought to be able to do the same. In
fact, last year, Senator McCaskill held her subcommittee’s vote on the NDAA in
the open. We hope that the other SASC subcommittee chairs will do likewise this
year.
We hope that you will vote this year for more openness and
democracy. We urge you, Chairman Levin, and the other committee members to vote
against closing the markup of the NDAA and to post the draft bill and
amendments online in advance of voting.
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