Forget the cheese, just let me out of the trap -- Medicare fraud at the top, and we're reliving the 70's
Sen. Saxby Chambliss was my Congressman for 8 years. Regardless of being in different political parties, we are friends; always have been, always will be.
Sen. Chambliss is a good man dedicated to the general welfare of the people of the state of Georgia. On the Hill he is regarded not only as one of the President's main cheerleaders, but also as the cowboy's water boy.
Sen. Chambliss was against the Medicare drug prescription bill because it was not good legislation. Not good for Georgia; not good for America.
Only after much arm twistising and threatening to send our Senator to the woodshed did Sen. Chambliss go along with the administration and vote yes. His vote was needed. The vote was close, very close. How close, I am not going to go back and look. It still makes me sick.
The AARP lost many members for endorsing Mr. Bush's new Medicare law, and alienated many, many more for supporting this legislation. The AARP usually looks after the welfare of its members. This time it failed its members.
The Medicare bill became law late last year. Although widely touted and regarded as one of Bush's major domestic achievements, it has been public knowledge since the first of this year that this law would not have become law had there not been a failure in our system of checks and balances.
The Bush administration intentionally withheld data from Congress on the cost of the new Medicare law, telling Congress it would cost $400 billion over 10 years rather than its true cost known to the administration of $534 billion.
When this became public early in 2004, lawmakers of both parties said the law would not have passed in its current form if Congress had known of the higher cost estimates.
Today's news is that we now have a formal legal opinion issued Tuesday by the accountability office, an investigative arm of Congress formerly known as the General Accounting Office, that the head of the Medicare agency who presided while the Bush administration perpetrated this fraud on the public, should be repay the government seven months of his 2003 salary of $145,600, meaning he would owe the U.S. Treasury $84,933 under the legal opinion issued on Tuesday.
I say forget the cheese; just let us out of the fraud. Forget the $84,933, and lets try to backtrack and save $134 billion over the next 10 years (the amount is not news; I recall from early in the year that the figure was in excess of $100 billion over 10 years;).
Making a big deal about recovering the $85,000 from the person who is now a lobbyist employed by a law firm but should be banned from the Capital and exiled to Siberia only adds insult to injury. The deception, according to reports early this year, was known at a high level in the Bush administration.
Had this bureaucrat stolen in Singapore, he would be walking around peddling deceit with a nub where his stained claw used to be. But in America we are going to allow this perpetuator of fraud to be in a position to do more of the same.
Well, you sort of get how I feel about the matter, don't you.
No, actually you don't. This post is not supposed to be about Thomas A. Scully, the former head of the Medicare agency. It is about the Kerry campaign.
This has been public knowledge since early this year.
When is it brought back up? Wednesday, September 8, after a legal opinion is issued that the culprit should have to cough up $85,000 of his 2003 salary (will he ever; no way, and the administration is backing him on this).
And when does Sen. Kerry mention it? He acts like it was on the evening news along with the head count passing 1,000 in Iraq.
Folks, I don't mean to overplay this, but this is why Bush needs to go. Domestically, American can't stand four more years. But this timing also shows why Kerry and his campaign staff need to step up to the plate on this issues.
Today's earlier post gave me hope. But if we do not see some improvement in the second half of September and going into the debates, things won't be looking very good. But at this point I can go ahead and tell you what I am going to do if that happens.
The same thing I always want to tell the flag burners. Love it or leave it.
I love America. Hell if I am going anywhere. Is this a great country or what.
And please Senator, flush out that Yankee head of yours and let's get this thing going the way we all know it should be going. You have a pretty easy target you know, and damn if we can't wait to get the momentum going so we can help you help us.
(9-8-04 N.Y. Times article about Medicare person.)
Sen. Chambliss is a good man dedicated to the general welfare of the people of the state of Georgia. On the Hill he is regarded not only as one of the President's main cheerleaders, but also as the cowboy's water boy.
Sen. Chambliss was against the Medicare drug prescription bill because it was not good legislation. Not good for Georgia; not good for America.
Only after much arm twistising and threatening to send our Senator to the woodshed did Sen. Chambliss go along with the administration and vote yes. His vote was needed. The vote was close, very close. How close, I am not going to go back and look. It still makes me sick.
The AARP lost many members for endorsing Mr. Bush's new Medicare law, and alienated many, many more for supporting this legislation. The AARP usually looks after the welfare of its members. This time it failed its members.
The Medicare bill became law late last year. Although widely touted and regarded as one of Bush's major domestic achievements, it has been public knowledge since the first of this year that this law would not have become law had there not been a failure in our system of checks and balances.
The Bush administration intentionally withheld data from Congress on the cost of the new Medicare law, telling Congress it would cost $400 billion over 10 years rather than its true cost known to the administration of $534 billion.
When this became public early in 2004, lawmakers of both parties said the law would not have passed in its current form if Congress had known of the higher cost estimates.
Today's news is that we now have a formal legal opinion issued Tuesday by the accountability office, an investigative arm of Congress formerly known as the General Accounting Office, that the head of the Medicare agency who presided while the Bush administration perpetrated this fraud on the public, should be repay the government seven months of his 2003 salary of $145,600, meaning he would owe the U.S. Treasury $84,933 under the legal opinion issued on Tuesday.
I say forget the cheese; just let us out of the fraud. Forget the $84,933, and lets try to backtrack and save $134 billion over the next 10 years (the amount is not news; I recall from early in the year that the figure was in excess of $100 billion over 10 years;).
Making a big deal about recovering the $85,000 from the person who is now a lobbyist employed by a law firm but should be banned from the Capital and exiled to Siberia only adds insult to injury. The deception, according to reports early this year, was known at a high level in the Bush administration.
Had this bureaucrat stolen in Singapore, he would be walking around peddling deceit with a nub where his stained claw used to be. But in America we are going to allow this perpetuator of fraud to be in a position to do more of the same.
Well, you sort of get how I feel about the matter, don't you.
No, actually you don't. This post is not supposed to be about Thomas A. Scully, the former head of the Medicare agency. It is about the Kerry campaign.
This has been public knowledge since early this year.
When is it brought back up? Wednesday, September 8, after a legal opinion is issued that the culprit should have to cough up $85,000 of his 2003 salary (will he ever; no way, and the administration is backing him on this).
And when does Sen. Kerry mention it? He acts like it was on the evening news along with the head count passing 1,000 in Iraq.
Folks, I don't mean to overplay this, but this is why Bush needs to go. Domestically, American can't stand four more years. But this timing also shows why Kerry and his campaign staff need to step up to the plate on this issues.
Today's earlier post gave me hope. But if we do not see some improvement in the second half of September and going into the debates, things won't be looking very good. But at this point I can go ahead and tell you what I am going to do if that happens.
The same thing I always want to tell the flag burners. Love it or leave it.
I love America. Hell if I am going anywhere. Is this a great country or what.
And please Senator, flush out that Yankee head of yours and let's get this thing going the way we all know it should be going. You have a pretty easy target you know, and damn if we can't wait to get the momentum going so we can help you help us.
(9-8-04 N.Y. Times article about Medicare person.)
posted by Sid Cottingham | 9:25 PM
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