GOP Fighting To Keep Wall Street Negotiations Secret

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

For the better part of a year, the GOP has blasted Democrats for legislating "behind closed doors" and making "secret deals." On Monday afternoon, the Senate will vote on a motion to proceed to debate Wall Street reform in public on the Senate floor.

Yet Republicans say their 41 members are united and will oppose the motion, in order to encourage Democrats to continue negotiating with them behind closed doors.

Condemning closed-door negotiations yet voting to prevent public debate is the height of hypocrisy, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) told HuffPost on Monday. "By voting against cloture, Republicans are voting to keep Wall Street negotiations behind closed doors, demanding changes to the bill without public scrutiny. Instead of closed-door deals, they should support open floor debate," said Merkley.

The GOP acknowledges that it's time to move forward. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the lead Republican negotiator, spoke before the Independent Community Bankers of America Monday morning and was asked if Congress should allow more time to pass with a commission investigating the root causes of the financial crisis.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/26/gop-fighting-to-keep-wall_n_551911.html