A top House committee responded to the mounting voter backlash against backroom deals on health reform by seeking more information Wednesday about White House negotiations with industry groups. Hours before President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address, Republicans and Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee agreed to pursue a revised GOP request for… Read more »

A House panel on Wednesday rejected a Republican bid to force the White House to release records on all private meetings with health care industry groups as Democrats crafted the health care overhaul. But House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman said he would work with Republicans to pursue the data through a letter, but not a House resolution of inquiry, as they… Read more »

In an unusual bipartisan move, Rep. Henry Waxman (D) of California joined Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce panel Wednesday in a call for the Obama White House to produce documents and details on the deals cut with industry groups on healthcare reform. Those agreements – never released in any detail – set markers for Congress’s work on healthcare, which many lawmakers felt… Read more »

In a rare display of bipartisanship, a top House Democrat agreed to back a Republican lawmaker's quest for details of closed-door deals the White House made with industry insiders to produce a healthcare reform bill. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he'd help Michael Burgess, MD, (R-Texas), seek information on the names of… Read more »

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) narrowed a request by a Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to seek more details on private negotiations that took place between the White House and industry groups on healthcare reform—but nevertheless said he would work to obtain more information on these meetings. Waxman, who chairs the panel, and others on the committee heard… Read more »

Just over 11 months ago, Rep. Joe Barton stood up at a White House fiscal summit and told the new president that a little bit of bipartisanship would go a long way, on health care and a host of other agenda items. The president took the point under advisement. "The majority has to be inclusive," he told the Arlington Republican. "On the other hand, the minority has to be… Read more »

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that he supports a GOP request for White House documents relating to deals made on health care reform. The committee is taking up a resolution this afternoon that asks President Barack Obama — and directs Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius — to turn records over to the House detailing… Read more »

When President Obama and the Democratic Congressional majorities began their now long, drawn-out efforts to pass health care reform legislation, the president promised the process would be marked by unprecedented transparency. Not only would the public be fully briefed on the content of discussions, they would also be able to watch them on C-SPAN. Yet after a year of dirty backroom… Read more »

A House Republican is trying to shine a light on the backroom deals that permeated health care reform negotiations, calling on the Obama administration to turn over its records detailing the behind-the-scenes talks on the overhaul. A House Republican is trying to shine a light on the backroom deals that permeated health care reform negotiations, calling on the Obama administration to… Read more »

A House committee on Wednesday will consider a Republican measure demanding that President Barack Obama divulge details about his negotiations with healthcare interest groups. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to mark up the resolution authored by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) just hours before Obama’s first State of the Union address. Burgess’s resolution requests… Read more »