November 16, 2011 The Honorable Patty Murray The Honorable Jeb Hensarling The Honorable Max Baucus

The Honorable John Kerry The Honorable Jon Kyl The Honorable Rob Portman The Honorable Patrick Toomey The Honorable Xavier Becerra The Honorable Dave Camp The Honorable James Clyburn The Honorable Fred Upton The Honorable Chris Van Hollen Dear Senator Murray, Representative Hensarling and Members of the Committee on Deficit Reduction: We, the undersigned, urge the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction to post its recommendations for cutting the deficit online 72 hours before the committee vote. We have been concerned about the secrecy surrounding the Super Committee from the very start, and have urged transparency measures that have largely been ignored by the committee. But as the time draws near for the committee to determine how to cut at least $1.2 trillion from the federal budget, the public needs to have the option to see for themselves which programs will be cut, which will be spared, and why. In addition, your colleagues, fellow members of Congress who have not been privy to the private negotiations of the Super Committee, should have the opportunity to digest and weigh in on proposed changes before it is too late for the bill to be modified. Elected officials and the voters they represent are entitled to the opportunity to read the bill before you vote. This is not an unreasonable demand. There has been legislation introduced that would require the Super Committees recommendations to be made available, online, for 72 hours prior to a committee vote, and House Speaker Boehner updated House Rules for the 112th Congress to include a rule requiring bills to be publicly available for three calendar days prior to consideration. As a member of the Super Committee you are in a unique place of power, and you can make a difference by making a stand for transparency. We ask you to take that stand, now, and pledge to post your recommendations for cutting the deficit online 72 hours before you vote. If you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, please contact Lisa Rosenberg at the Sunlight Foundation at lrosenberg@sunlightfoundation.com Thank you. Sincerely,

Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law The Center for Responsive Politics Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Common Cause Demand Progress Judicial Watch MapLight The National Organization for Women The National Priorities Project OMB Watch OpenTheGovernment.org The Project on Government Oversight Public Citizen Social Security Works The Strengthen Social Security Campaign The Sunlight Foundation Taxpayers for Common Sense United Republic US PIRG