AGs Ask Pelosi, Reid To Strip NE Compromise
By Reid Wilson
SC AG Henry McMaster (R) and 12 other GOP AGs have warned Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid to remove a controversial provision championed by a key senator from health care legislation.
McMaster and his fellow AGs have asked that a provision requiring the federal government to pay for new Medicaid enrollees from NE be eliminated. That provision was added to win a vote in favor of the legislation from Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE); GOPers have derisively termed it the "Cornhusker Kickback."
The AGs say the provision violates the Constitution by favoring one state over others, a violation of several clauses.
"[T]his legislation would require every state, except Nebraska, to shoulder its fair share of the increased Medicaid costs the bill will generate. The provision of the bill that relieves a single state from this cost-sharing program appears to be not only unrelated, but also antithetical to the legitimate federal interests in the bill," the AGs write.
McMaster has threatened litigation over the provision before. But the letter marks the first time the AGs have specifically warned Congressional leaders that they will file suit if the provision stays in the bill.
"We ask that Congress delete the Nebraska provision from the pending legislation, as we prefer to avoid litigation," they write.
The issue is a good one for McMaster, who is enmeshed in a tough GOV primary, and Dems have charged his motivation is purely to help his own political future. Opposing the health care reform effort, in GOP circles, is a popular move and can only help McMaster stand out from a crowded field.
It's a calculation other AGs have made too. MI AG Mike Cox (R), PA AG Tom Corbett (R) and FL AG Bill McCollum (R) are all running for GOV, and opposing a health care bill that's unpopular in their own states will help their causes in the short run.
Meanwhile, several other rising stars have also signed on. Though they aren't running for higher office this year, WA AG Rob McKenna (R), TX AG Greg Abbott (R), CO AG John Suthers (R), AL AG Troy King (R), UT AG Mark Shurtleff (R) and ID AG Lawrence Wasden (R) have all been mentioned as potential candidates for higher office.
We are so disgusted by his constant attempts to please the righwing of his party that we will launch a website on Friday, where people can sign petition asking McCollum to cater to all Floridians and stop using taxpayer money for partisan witch hunt. The site is called http://www.rightwingbill.com/. Spread the word.
We have yet to read a story about this alleged controversy that actually cites which part of the U.S. Constitution is at issue here.
There's no "favoring one state over others" provision in my copy, or in the one at the National Archives.
Could this legal threat actually be a legal fiction? Will National Journal ever help us sort this out?
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I staleness say this journal is impressive. I was wondering is there anything that our diary community would do for group from Haiti ?
Do you actually think that's true? You did an excellent job stating your point, but I think you should put some more thought in this argument and maybe post an answer to the other side of this post.
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