Mark Dayton: “this budget proves the old saying that the end justifies the means. In this case the process used to produce this budget…”

“this budget proves the old saying that the end justifies the means. In this case the process used to produce this budget was a disgrace, and the budget itself is a disgrace. The Democratic Senators who were the official members of the conference committee were not even allowed to attend the meetings behind closed doors. That is not only unfair, that is ridiculous. The other side has the votes on the conference committee to pass whatever they want. That is fair. They are the majority caucus. To not even allow Democratic Senators in the room, what are they hiding? What are they ashamed of? They should be ashamed of this budget, and they should be ashamed of hiding their decisions behind closed doors. In my home State of Minnesota, we have an open meeting law. It applies to every public body from the State legislature to city councils to school boards. Any meeting of three or more members must be a public meeting. There must be a public notice given so that people can watch their elected officials make the decisions that affect their lives and hold them accountable. This budget fiasco underscores the need for such an open meeting law in Washington to open the doors of these conference committees to Democrats, to the press, and to the people. But if the budget process we have seen here is the reason we need an open meeting law in Washington, this budget product is the reason we will not get one. If I were responsible for this disgrace, I would want to hide, too.…”