C-SPAN Seeks Access as Final Health Deal Goes Behind Closed Doors

As a candidate for president, Barack Obama criticized the Bush White House for its code of secrecy on everything from Dick Cheney's energy task force to details on the intelligence that led to the Iraq war.

On the campaign trail, Obama promised that his White House would operate differently. On health care, he pledged in August 2008, "We'll have all the negotiations around a big table. . . . But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies."

Today, Brian Lamb, the president of C-SPAN, sent a letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate, asking them to live up to the promise of opening health care negotiations to C-SPAN cameras. Although the non-profit cable channel has broadcast hundreds of hours of committee mark-ups and floor debate on health care reform, Democratic leaders are attempting to bypass a formal conference committee and negotiate the final deal behind closed doors.

"President Obama, Senate leaders, and many of your rank and file members have all talked about the value of transparent discussions of reforming the nation's health care system," Lamb wrote. "Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation process between the chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American."

C-SPAN has made similar requests for access to negotiations and control over coverage in the past. In 1994 and again in 2006, Lamb asked House Speakers Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi to allow C-SPAN, not the House staff, to control the movement of cameras that cover the House floor. Lamb also pushed to televise the Supreme Court's oral arguments. Neither effort has succeeded yet.

Terry Murphy, vice president of programming for C-SPAN, told Politics Daily that the network hasn't gotten a response from the congressional leaders yet on the health bill negotiations, but emphasized the need for covering the deliberations.

"The more openness the better," Murphy said. "No matter who's in power."