"As Congress considers some of the most pivotal policy of our time, the American people deserve full transparency in all legislative proceedings, particularly those of the powerful Rules Committee," Dent said in a press release. "There has been unprecedented civic engagement since the 2008 election. Americans understand the importance of the policy that Congress is considering and they are watching the process closely." The lawmaker said hefty amendments have stealthily come before the committee and key policy proposals have been rejected on a straight party-line vote without proper consideration -- and absent videotaped evidence.

[Update: 2:05 p.m.] A spokesman for Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter said: "We invite TV cameras to every single meeting we have. We can't dictate what the press decides to cover but cameras are always welcome at our meetings. Like all Americans, we love C-SPAN. And it's worth noting that Rules is far more open under us than it ever was under Republicans. We meet earlier, post more information online and we do it faster than ever before so the public knows exactly what happens at each of our meetings. "