Dem, GOP lawmakers demand info on White House health meetings

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers wants to White House to turn over all documentation of meetings between Obama administration officials and representatives of the healthcare industry.

In a letter  sent to White House counsel Robert Bauer and a separate letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee say they are seeking information about the meetings that led to a series of healthcare reform agreements between the White House and healthcare interests such as pharmaceutical companies. The lawmakers ask for response by March 12.

The deals between the White House, drug makers, hospitals, labor unions and other special interests helped quell opposition to President Barack Obama's healthcare reform initiative but they also stoked Republican criticism that the Democratic strategy for the legislation heavily relied on "backroom deals." The White House agreements -- especially with the drug industry -- also piqued a lot of Democrats, who thought Big Pharma got off too easily.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) signed the letters, along with Rep Michael Burgess (R-Texas). Last month, the committee approved Burgess's resolution requesting the information from the Obama administration. “It is very important that details on any negotiations made behind closed doors are made public and available for all to see.  The integrity of the process and of health reform legislation is at stake,” Burgess said in a statement Thursday.