Secret Deal in December

Secret Deal in December

That change was made in mid-December during private
negotiations involving House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.),
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and the staffs
of those committees as well as the House Energy and Commerce Committee. House
and Senate Democrats were excluded from the meeting. The Senate gave final
approval to the budget-cutting measure on Dec. 21, but the House must give
it final consideration early next month.

The change in the Medicare provision underscores a
practice that growing numbers of lawmakers from both parties want addressed.
More than ever, Republican congressional lawmakers and leaders are making
vital decisions, involving far-reaching policies and billions of dollars,
without the public — or even congressional Democrats — present.

The corruption scandal involving Republican former
lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the bribery plea of former congressman Randy "Duke"
Cunningham (R-Calif.) have prompted calls for a restructuring of lobbying
rules and congressional practices that make lobbying easier.

Closed-Door
Deal Makes $22 Billion Difference

This is exactly what we’re talking about. Now read the above and
instead of the sanitized word "private," insert "secret."

During SECRET negotiations involving two key Republicans in the
House and Senate, Rep. Thomas and Senator Grassley managed to make certain HMOs would still get their whopping payments. Instead of lowering reimbursements to the giant medical monstrosities by $26 billion over the next decade, the SECRET Republican deal managed
to only cost HMOs $4 billion. Hey, now that’s budget management, Bush style.

As for the Democrats’ involvement, it doesn’t appear they
knew anything about the SECRET meeting.

That’s the Republican leadership at work. They plot and plan,
we pay.