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White House Transparency, Visitor Logs, and Lobbyists

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White House Transparency, Visitor Logs, and Lobbyists WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY, VISITOR LOGS, AND LOBBYISTS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MAY 3, 2011 Serial No. 112–42 ( Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce energycommerce.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 70–819 PDF WASHINGTON : 2011 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:31 Oct 27, 2011 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\112-042 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY\112-42 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY PE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE FRED UPTON, Michigan Chairman JOE BARTON, Texas HENRY A. WAXMAN, California Chairman Emeritus Ranking Member CLIFF STEARNS, Florida JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky Chairman Emeritus JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York MARY BONO MACK, California FRANK PALLONE, JR., New Jersey GREG WALDEN, Oregon BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois LEE TERRY, Nebraska MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania MIKE ROGERS, Michigan ANNA G. ESHOO, California SUE WILKINS MYRICK, North Carolina ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York Vice Chair GENE GREEN, Texas JOHN SULLIVAN, Oklahoma DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania LOIS CAPPS, California MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee CHARLES A. GONZALEZ, Texas BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California JAY INSLEE, Washington CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin PHIL GINGREY, Georgia MIKE ROSS, Arkansas STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio JIM MATHESON, Utah CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, Washington G.K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina GREGG HARPER, Mississippi JOHN BARROW, Georgia LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey DORIS O. MATSUI, California BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, Virgin Islands BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky PETE OLSON, Texas DAVID B. MCKINLEY, West Virginia CORY GARDNER, Colorado MIKE POMPEO, Kansas ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS CLIFF STEARNS, Florida Chairman LEE TERRY, Nebraska DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado JOHN SULLIVAN, Oklahoma Ranking Member TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas MIKE ROSS, Arkansas MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York SUE WILKINS MYRICK, North Carolina EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California GENE GREEN, Texas PHIL GINGREY, Georgia DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, Virgin Islands STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan CORY GARDNER, Colorado HENRY A. WAXMAN, California (ex officio) H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia JOE BARTON, Texas FRED UPTON, Michigan (ex officio) (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:31 Oct 27, 2011 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 5904 F:\112-042 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY\112-42 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY PE CONTENTS Page Hon. Cliff Stearns, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida, opening statement ................................................................................................ 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 4 Hon. Diane DeGette, a Representative in Congress from the State of Colo- rado, opening statement ...................................................................................... 6 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 Hon. Michael C. Burgess, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, opening statement .................................................................................... 11 Hon. Marsha Blackburn, a Representative in Congress from the State of Tennessee, opening statement ............................................................................ 12 Hon. Phil Gingrey, a Representative in Congress from the State of Georgia, opening statement ................................................................................................ 12 Hon. Henry A. Waxman, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, opening statement ............................................................................. 13 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 16 WITNESSES Tom Fitton, President, Judicial Watch .................................................................. 18 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 John Wonderlich, Policy Director, Sunlight Foundation ...................................... 24 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 26 Anne Weismann, Chief Counsel, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ........................................................................................................... 33 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 35 SUBMITTED MATERIAL Subcommittee exhibit binder, submitted by Mr. Stearns ..................................... 44 Letter, dated February 17, 2011, from Hon. Judy Biggert, Chairman, Sub- committee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, House Committee on Financial Services, to Michael P. Stephens, Acting Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, Department of Housing and Urban Development, submitted by Ms. DeGette ........................................................... 224 Letter, dated March 3, 2011, from Michael P. Stephens, Acting Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, Department of Housing and Urban Development, to Hon. Judy Biggert, Chairman, Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, House Committee on Financial Serv- ices, submitted by Ms. DeGette .......................................................................... 229 Letter, dated March 22, 2011, from Peter A. Kovar, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Department of Housing and Urban Development, to Hon. Darrell Issa, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, submitted by Ms. DeGette ................ 237 Letter, dated April 18, 2011, from Michael P. Stephens, Acting Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, Department of Housing and Urban Development, to Hon. Judy Biggert, Chairman, Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, House Committee on Financial Serv- ices, submitted by Ms. DeGette .......................................................................... 239 Timeline of Transparency of White House Negotiations over Health Reform, submitted by Mr. Burgess ................................................................................... 251 ‘‘Obama makes a mockery of his own lobbyist ban,’’ Washington Examiner article by Timothy P. Carney, dated February 3, 2010, submitted by Mr. Stearns .................................................................................................................. 272 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:31 Oct 27, 2011 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\112-042 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY\112-42 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY PE VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:31 Oct 27, 2011 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\112-042 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY\112-42 WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY PE WHITE HOUSE TRANSPARENCY, VISITOR LOGS, AND LOBBYISTS TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2011 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:35 a.m., in room 2123, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Cliff Stearns (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Stearns, Terry, Burgess, Blackburn, Gingrey, Scalise, Gardner, Griffith, Barton, DeGette, Weiner, Mar- key, Green, and Waxman (ex officio). Staff Present: Todd Harrison, Chief Counsel; Stacy Cline, Coun- sel; Sean Hayes, Counsel; Alan Slobodin, Deputy Chief Counsel; John Stone, Associate Counsel; Alex Yergin, Legislative Clerk; Carl Anderson, Counsel; Sam Spector, Counsel; Aaron Cutler, Deputy Policy Director; Kristin Amerling, Minority Chief Counsel and Oversight Staff Director; Stacia Cardille, Minority Counsel; Brian Cohen, Minority Investigations Staff Director and Senior Policy Ad- visor; Karen Lightfoot, Minority Communications Director and Sen- ior Policy Advisor; Ali Neubauer, Minority Investigator; and Anne Tindall, Minority Counsel. Mr. STEARNS. Good morning, everybody. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation of the Energy and Commerce Com- mittee will come to order. And I shall start with my opening state- ment. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CLIFF STEARNS, A REP- RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA Ladies and gentlemen, we convene this hearing of the Sub- committee on Oversight and Investigations today to gather infor- mation concerning the Obama administration’s commitment to transparency. While he was a candidate, he repeatedly promised that his administration would be the most open and transparent in American history. He said he would make contacts between the ad- ministration and lobbyists more open, and that he would televise health care negotiations on C–SPAN
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