Jon Tester, U.S. Senator

Tester Would Push for Openness at Federal Level to Stop Back-Room Deals

United States Senate candidate Jon Tester today called for more openness in government, saying that decisions affecting the American public cannot be made behind closed doors.

Tester’s comments came during the second annual Sunshine Week, an initiative urging more openness to make government more accessible and accountable.

“The American public is sick and tired of politicians making back-room deals and secret agreements on issues that affect their daily lives,” Tester said. “In Montana we have a constitutional right to know. It’s time we take this to the federal level so that American citizens and the press can shine a light on government.”

Tester’s defense of the public’s right to know comes amid several years of Bush Administration and Congressional restrictions on access to meetings and information used in decision-making.

“President Bush recently moved forward on handing over control of American ports to the United Arab Emirates without public knowledge, and we’ve got Conrad Burns cutting secret deals with lobbyists like Jack Abramoff,” Tester said. “It’s time to change the face of Washington, D.C., by opening the doors of government to the American public.”

“The public and the media always had a right to information that affected our decision making in the Montana Senate,” Tester said. “In the United States Senate I will demand the same access and openness for the public in matters that do not pose an imminent threat to national security.”

Posted on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 1:42 pm.