Late yesterday, Leader Pelosi called for the new Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction (or “SuperCongress”) to hold open meetings and webcast their proceedings. This is an important development, as Pelosi is the first congressional leader to call for this powerful committee to operate openly, as Sunlight has been urging since Tuesday. The statement is below, Sunlight’s statement can be found here, and updates from yesterday can be found here.

August 5, 2011 Contact: Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Pelosi Statement Calling for Transparency on Joint Committee Deliberations

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement calling for transparency with respect to the Joint Committee’s deliberations:

“Without regard or respect for the recent S&P comment on our nation’s credit rating, it is important to note the role that transparency and accountability play in making their judgment. As S&P stated, ‘The transparency and accountability of institutions bear directly on sovereign creditworthiness because they reinforce the stability and predictability both of political institutions and the political framework.’

“The American people are watching to see if the bipartisan Joint Committee will develop a plan to responsibly reduce the deficit in a balanced way while promoting economic growth and creating jobs.

“The work of this Committee will affect all Americans, and its deliberations should be open the press, to the public and webcast.

“Any acceptance of the Committee proposal will be dependent on the ability of the American people to fully view its proceedings.” # # #