[U.S. House Majority Whip Jim] Clyburn said the high-profile deal that Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson reached to have the federal government pay 100 percent for Medicaid expansion in his state will help land South Carolina a better deal during the conference negotiations.
Nelson was given the perk in return for agreeing to vote for the bill. Nelson’s vote all but assures the bill’s final passage later this week.
Other states would receive reimbursements worth 91 percent. Clyburn said he will be a party to the conference negotiations and he will push for states to receive a 95 percent return for the life of the bill, but he cannot guarantee he will get it.
“Rather than carping on this, I think it opens the door for other states to demonstrate need for similar treatment when you get to the conference,” Clyburn said.
This isn’t even “honest” bribery. They are bribing each other with our money, not with their own.
Senator X: “I’m not voting for this because it costs way too much money.”
Senator Y: “How about if we give your state 100 million more in federal money?”
Senator X” “You’ve go my vote!”
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
What has happened to the party of John Kennedy? “Profiles in Courage” has become “Profies in Infamy”. Is there not one honest man or woman who will stand on principle? Mr. Nelson’s sell out is shameful, but Mr. Clyburn wanting Sens. Graham and DeMint to steal even more from America for the “benefit” of South Carolina shows the level to which our politicians have sunk. And the bad news is, when the Republicans were in power they treated the budget process like they were street urchins let loose in a candy store. Is there not one who will stand up and say “No”?
2, No. There are none. This country’s days as a federal constitutional republic with a central government of limited powers are at an end.
I may not agree with Senator Nelsons agreement on the abortion part of the legislation but on the “sell out” to get his state the $$$ – good grief given the way that politics in this county is played – he did a good job for his state. We are operating on an each for his own – as long as that is the case and no one is looking out for the whole – I have no critisim. Maybe it should have started with him – but in this case – to what end. Look at the earmarks going into all the other bills – this is peanuts. Of course there are enough peanuts to make peanut farming a fairly “profitable” business.
No. 1–It’s worse than that. The Democrats/Blue States are bribing each other with the Red States’ money. So they’ll get the benefits, and the rest of us will have to pay for it and get less comparatively.
I’ll say again, there’s got to be something unconstitutional about this.
It is obvious to me that Rep. Clyburn is intellectually and morally bankrupt if he defends this scheme of “beggar thy neighbor”. If the states get exemptions from the Medicaid increases, who will pay for their cost share in the end? The other states? Oh, that’s right, Clyburn says they will all get exemptions in conference. Hmmm, does that all add up to savings?
why would anyone take Jim Clyburn seriously? The man could not get elected anywhere save for a couple dozen congressional districts in the whole country, his politics are so out of whack socialist. But he’ll sit fat and happy in his district until he’s pushing up daisies, a symbol of everything that is wrong with politics these days…