It seems some folks are not happy with the way certain congressional commitees are being hidden from public view by a loophole that will allow vested interests to pass "secret" legislation affecting the Telecom sector ( the folks who provide many of the Internet and phone lines to the public ).
http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/2006/05/08/congress-shaping-telecom-law-in-private/Report from Marilyn Geewax at the The Austin American-Statesman.
Lobbyists are writing the bill in secret, in conference committee. Megolomaniac AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre doesn’t like it when the public gets involved in lawmaking.
No one should waste much time watching the floor debates on C-SPAN. The lawmakers admit their goal is not to pass definitive legislation in public in the coming weeks.
Instead, they want to pass separate bills, regardless of how different they may be. The final version would be negotiated, largely in private, by about a dozen senators and representatives on a conference committee.
The Senate just needs to pass “anything to get us into conference,” where the real decisions will be made, House telecommunications subcommittee chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said Tuesday at a telecom forum hosted by National Journal’s Technology Daily.
Whilst not exactly 100% sure of the particular bill and its functions I deplore anyone abusing the democratic process for their own gain and in this case AT&T should be ashamed of themselves, whilst those in congresss are certainly not acting in the best interests of their voters, honest goverment is the key to healthy democracy..
