January, 24 2011, 12:30pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Adam Ratliff 202.408.5565
CREW: Issa Must Release Letters Now, Not Later
WASHINGTON
In response to House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa's
letter to Ranking Member Elijah Cummings promising to release on
February 11th the letters he has received regarding needed regulatory
reforms as well his analysis of those letters, CREW Executive Director
Melanie Sloan made the following statement:
"Chairman Issa's letter to Rep. Cummings is at odds with his
much-professed commitment to transparency and accountability. By
releasing his own analysis of the letters at the same time he releases
the letters themselves, Chairman Issa is giving himself plenty of time
to craft and then control the message of the letters. Neither Rep.
Cummings nor anyone else will have the time to consider and draft any
potentially competing analysis the day the letters are revealed. By the
time anyone else has the chance to review and analyze the responses,
they may be old news and likely won't generate nearly the same level of
media attention. This hardly qualifies as the much ballyhooed
transparency the chairman promised.
As CREW has stated in two letters to Chairman Issa, the committee
should post on its website the letters already received immediately and
should post any future responses as they come in. Americans can then
analyze the letters right along with the committee in real time."
Click here to read CREW's letter to Chairman Issa (01/18/11).
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach.
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