Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Obama: We Will “Do Our Business in the Light of Day”

Some of the Obama Administration’s initial steps towards greater openness seem to reflect more enthusiasm than careful consideration.

For example, the new White House web site now states that “We will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.”

This does not make a lot of sense, since the White House cannot amend legislation that has already been passed by Congress or take any other action in response to public “review and comment” except to veto the measure. Public comments on pending legislation need to be directed to members of Congress, whose specific function is to represent their constituents’ interests and concerns.

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