Budget Committee Dems Balk at Healthcare Takeover Transparency
FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following districts: Tim Bishop (NY-01); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Rick Larsen (WA-02); John Spratt (SC-05); Niki Tsongas (MA-05); and John Yarmuth (KY-03).
Niki Tsongas Balks at Healthcare Takeover Transparency
Tsongas Refuses to Ask Dems to Make Their Healthcare Takeover Bill Available for 72 Hours Before a Vote
Washington- Niki Tsongas proved once again that she’s on board with her party’s efforts to sneak their unpopular healthcare bill through Congress when she voted minutes ago in the House Budget Committee against a measure asking Democrats to make the final reconciliation bill available to the public for 72 hours before a vote (see vote here). What exactly are Democrats trying to hide?
“Democrats are in a tight spot on health-care reform. The only way they got the legislation though the Senate was with a series of sweetheart deals — including the now infamous ‘Louisiana Purchase,’ ‘Gator-aid,’ and ‘Cornhusker kickback.’ Those deals won the support of recalcitrant senators. But now they’re now the biggest obstacle President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi face as they make their final health-care push.” (Mark Thiessen, “Sweetheart Deals Gone Sour,” Washington Post, 3/15/10)
But if these deals are so unpopular, why don’t Democrats just take them out of the bill? Because it’s not that easy. Democrats need those shady deals to sweeten the pot in a last-ditch effort to drag the bill across the finish line.
“Obama also appears ready to reverse his position and allow unpopular deal-sweetening measures in the hopes of finding Democratic support for legislation whose future will be decided in coming days.” (“Obama Heads to Ohio Looking for Health Care Votes,” Associated Press, 3/15/10)
“Niki Tsongas’ fight against transparency is nothing more than an all-out effort to help her party sneak their unpopular healthcare takeover through Congress before the American people know what hit them,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Tsongas is all too happy to shut the American people out of the legislative process, only to let her party stick them with the consequences of their reckless healthcare agenda.”
###