On the recordJuly 21, 2010
The Republicans do, indeed, have a moratorium. It's a moratorium on cooperation. It's a moratorium on voting for good bills they say they're for. It's a moratorium on reality. They never miss an opportunity to let their rigid ideology get in the way of us doing something for America, and that's what's happening here today. We reach out a hand on a bill they say they're for and they slap it back. Let me say just a word about openness in government, which has a lot to do with earmarks and this bill, because it's too often good talk but little meaningful action. In the past, this very piece of legislation to spend or reduce hundreds of individual tariffs for specific businesses has been a troubling example of government in the shadows. As in previous Congresses, when I first attempted to learn more about what was in this bill, I found it an impenetrable process. Even my efforts as a member of the committee of jurisdiction to determine specifics about this bill were initially thwarted. True to its name, the Sunlight Foundation shed light on this opaque process.
