Letter to the Editor: GOP had shabby performance at hearings

Editor:

This past week we saw House Republicans attempting to control state agencies testimony at committee hearings.

At our first committee meeting where we were to go through orientation the chair of the committee, Rep. Art Whittich, attempted to adopt a rule to prevent informational witnesses from testifying without first being requested by a member of the committee. Informational witnesses typically testify with first-hand or technical knowledge critical to the discussion. If this rule would have passed informational witnesses would have been preventing from sharing vital information unless specifically requested by a committee member.

Limiting informational witnesses’ testimony before the committee restricts the opportunity for every vital piece of information to be entered on public record. Myself and other committee members believe that passing these unnecessary rules would have opened the doors for partisan and ideological imbalance in what the chair allows the legislators to hear and discuss.

Following this motion only two groups were brought in to present certain information.

This action merely set the stage for power plays in committee. Last week, several Republican Chairs subpoenaed three Department of Health and Human Services handpicked employees to appear before the House Human Services Committee. The use of a subpoena in this instance is unnecessarily forceful. Subpoenas have been used rarely by the state Legislature and only when people have resisted requests to testify. This should not be a commonplace measure used against state agents who would offer testimony willingly.

This strong-arming of witnesses raises questions of the purpose of such testimony. Was this a media play intended to incite spectacle rather than gather useful information? Was this testimony compelled to express one ideological viewpoint instead of encouraging intelligent hearings? Was this done in the best interests of all Montanans or did it serve the political interests of one certain mindset or lawmaking ideology?

Restricting informational witnesses and compelling state agents to testify are all attempts to control policy discussion. We were elected to serve and represent the people of Montana, not to put ideology before the peoples’ work. I would hope that in the future my fellow elected officials conduct themselves in a manner that befits the enormous privilege and responsibility of our position.

Rep. Gordon Pierson, Democrat

Deer Lodge