Quigley And Renacci Call For Transparency In Congressional Deficit Committee

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D, IL-5) and Jim Renacci (R, OH-16) are circulating a bipartisan letter to House and Senate leaders asking that the work of the committee created by the Budget Control Act of 2011 to reduce deficits by $1.5 trillion be done in an open and transparent method.

"This 'Super Committee' has been given unprecedented power to make unprecedented decisions, and we must call for unprecedented transparency," said Rep. Quigley. "With power over the fate of $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, the Committee members will face huge pressure from lobbyists and special interest groups, and the American people deserve to see exactly who is influencing the process."

"The committee tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in spending cuts will perform an extremely difficult and important task - taking serious steps to put America back on a sustainable fiscal path," said Rep. Renacci. "Extraordinary endeavors like this are usually accompanied by incredible pressure, often from special interest groups. An open and transparent process will serve to limit outside influence on the committee. The American people deserve to see that their elected representatives are acting responsibly and to fully understand where the recommended cuts will occur."

The letter makes the following four requests, that: 1) all meetings and hearings of the committee be publically noticed, open to the public, broadcast on the Internet, and archived on the committee's website; 2) final legislative language put forward by the committee be posted online for at least 72 hours before the final committee vote; 3) campaign contributions to committee members be posted at least once a week; and 4) all meetings between lobbyists and other special interest groups and members of the committee and their staffs should be posted online at least once per week.

A copy of the letter is attached.

Quigley and Renacci serve together on a bipartisan working group tasked with finding ways to reduce the deficit and fix the broken budget process.

A co-founder of the House Transparency Caucus, Quigley recently introduced a bill to provide every taxpayer with a receipt detailing how their tax dollars are spent. He also authored Reinventing Government: The Federal Budget Parts I and II to establish transparency in the budget process and offered 60 recommendations to save $2 trillion over the next 10 years. His bill to make all federal agency reports to Congress available to the public passed the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Congressman Renacci is serving his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he is a member of the Financial Services Committee. Prior to his election he worked as a Certified Public Accountant in the health care industry, and owned and operated over 60 other businesses in the automotive and sports management fields.

The letter text is as follows:

August 12, 2011

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, and Minority Leader Pelosi:

As you know, the recently passed Budget Control Act of 2011 establishes a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction composed of 12 members of congress who will be tasked with reducing the deficit by $1.5 trillion between 2012 and 2021. Given the incredible new powers of this "Super Committee" to recommend significant reforms, cuts, and revenue measures, we write today to ask you, as the appointers of the Committee, to ensure all the work of the Committee is done as openly and transparently as possible.

Specifically, we would like to request that the following transparency requirements are met:

- All meetings and hearings should be publically noticed in advance, open to the public, broadcast live over the internet, and archived on the Committee's website.

- The final legislative language put forward by the Committee should be posted online at least 72 hours prior to the final Committee vote.

- Campaign contributions received by Committee members should be posted online at least once per week to ensure proper oversight of donations from special interests to Committee members.

- All meetings between lobbyists and other special interest groups and members of the Committee and their staffs should be posted online at least once per week, as was done with the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Holding extraordinary powers over trillions of dollars in spending and revenues, the 12 Committee members will face unprecedented pressure from special interest groups. Implementing the transparency measures listed above will ensure the vital work of the Committee is done out in the open and not behind closed doors.

The Super Committee has the potential to make game-changing reforms that will remedy our budget for decades to come, and we support the efforts of the Committee. We simply want to ensure that the process by which these critical decisions are made, that will result in billions of dollars in budget cuts impacting every American, will be as open, transparent, and accountable as possible.

Sincerely,

Mike Quigley

Member of Congress

Jim Renacci

Member of Congress

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