Democrats turn to Web to conduct 'e-hearing' -The Hill

[Rose Siding]

Several House Democrats, frustrated with House rules that allow only the majority party to convene hearings, yesterday said they would hold their own online hearing to draw attention to their concerns about retiree pension plans at bankrupt United Airlines.
...
During the course of this week, Miller will solicit testimony from United Airlines employees and retirees from a page on the committee’s website, edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/unitedhearing.html, which already sports an opening statement from Miller and prepared testimony from two union officials and an academic. The committee’s Democratic staff will then write a report on the testimony, which will be included in the Congressional Record, said Miller spokesman Tom Kiley. The online hearing will lack the traditional question-and-answer session that characterizes regular hearings.
...
To circumvent....restrictions, enterprising Democrats began late last year to hold events closely resembling official congressional hearings, so similar that they would garner the same coverage from the press and from transcript services.
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“What they’re doing is not technically wrong; it just misleads people,” said Brian J. Walsh, a Republican spokesman for the House Administration Committee, which oversees the House websites. “It would be more accurate to call it an online forum or an online town meeting. I think it’s misleading because it lends the appearance that it’s something official.”

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/052505/democrats.html

[BR_Parkway]

1. ...it lends the apearance that it's something official" well, it is an

official Democrat hearing, isn't it?