WASHINGTON – Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wasn’t happy Thursday when the Chamber of Commerce used its powerful lobby to block her bill that would make corporate settlements with the government public.
“Just before the Senate adjourned, I asked for a unanimous consent vote on my Truth in Settlements Act,” Warren said Thursday.
“The bipartisan bill is simple: If the government is going to use settlements to hold corporations accountable – rather than taking them to trial for breaking the law – the government should make the terms of those settlements public.” The Act ensures that relevant details and terms of non-confidential settlements are publicized truthfully, and that the process by which settlements are deemed confidential is assessed and monitored.
The bill was introduced by Senators Warren and Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.
The only group who objected to the bill was the Chamber of Commerce. Warren described the chamber as “a powerful lobbying organization for giant corporations, who says that if the public knew those facts, they’d demand more accountability for corporate wrongdoing. (Exactly.)”
Warren said she “was disappointed but not surprised that some Senate Republicans objected to the vote.”
She said she and the bill’s supporters will reintroduce “and keep fighting for passage” of the Truth in Settlements Act in the next Congress.
She should be more disappointed in her fellow Democrat Senators for not supporting her efforts. At the time this consent vote was taken, the Democrats still controlled the Senate.
This sound like a reasonable request. If we are paying them in a settlement it sure seems like we should have a right to know the details.