July 27, 2012 — The following was released by the Office of Congressman Walter Jones.
“In this day and age it doesn’t make sense not to broadcast meetings over the Internet, or not to publicize how individual Commissioners vote.” — Congressman Walter Jones
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC) called on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to improve the transparency of Commission actions. In a letter to the Commission, Jones pointed out that while regulatory agencies across the country routinely broadcast their meetings over the Internet, the ASMFC does not. He also pointed out that while it is standard practice for public institutions ranging from local school boards to the U.S. Congress to release roll call votes, the Commission does not publicly release how each individual member of the Commission votes on agenda items. Jones called on the Commission to rectify these problems by broadcasting all future ASMFC meetings live over the Internet; making archived recordings of past meetings available on the Commission’s website for a reasonable period of time after the meeting; and posting on its website how each Commissioner from each state votes on agenda items.
“Government decision making should be open and transparent,” stated Congressman Jones. “ASMFC conducts its business in a way that falls short of that principle. I have proposed some common sense reforms that I hope the Commission will adopt.”
“In this day and age it doesn’t make sense not to broadcast meetings over the Internet, or not to publicize how individual Commissioners vote,” continued Congressman Jones. “Fishermen regulated by the Commission, and the general public who pays the Commission’s bills, have a right to be able to keep easy tabs on what’s going on.”