Cornhusker to Give Back “Kick Back”?
EmailABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., under fire for getting special treatment for his state in Democrats’ health reform proposal, today said that he’s going to try to get the same special treatment for every other state. Republicans had dubbed the special treatment for Nebraska “The Cornhusker Kickback” and used the issue to argue the health bill was unfair to all the other states. Nebraska’s republican governor had said the $100 million exemption obtained by the Democratic senator was unfair. Nelson’s announcement comes a day after California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had been a rogue Republican in his support for health reform, blasted the bill passed by senators Christmas Eve, saying during a speech to the California Legislature Wednesday, that with the special provision for the Cornhusker state – “they got the corn and we got the husk.” Nelson, the last Senate Democrat to support the legislation, withheld his support until the last minute, when Democratic leaders exempted his state alone from ever having to contribute to a proposed Medicaid expansion in the bill and also tweaked language to make it more difficult for people receiving federal help obtaining health insurance to have abortions covered. In a written statement this afternoon, Nelson argues that the inclusion of a special exemption for Nebraska from its contribution to pay for a Medicaid expansion in the bill in 2017 was really only ever intended as a “placeholder” to move to the next step in the process and get the same treatment for everyone. “I’ve been in serious discussions with Senate leaders and others to secure changes in the bill to treat all states equally,” Nelson said in a paper statement today. “At the end of the day, whatever Nebraska gets will apply to all states.” It’s a confusing argument – that he secured special treatment for Nebraska to create an environment where every state would get the same special treatment. In any event, the special favor is becoming politically untenable for the moderate Nebraskan. There is no easy solution. Nelson is not saying, in a statement released today, that he wants to simply strip the special provision for Nebraska, which is expected to cost $100 million over 10 years. Instead, he suggests that he wants the same treatment for all states – others would have to pay a small percentage of expanding Medicaid within two years after the expansion – to everyone at 133 percent of the poverty level. The expansion would occur in 2014 under the Senate Democrats’ proposal, which passed Dec. 24th. But the cost of giving the exemption to all 50 states would presumably be cost prohibitive. President Obama has said he wants the bill’s price tag to stay under $900 billion over ten years. Some estimate that exempting all 50 states from the Medicaid expansion would cost tens of billions of dollars. Nelson’s other idea – allowing states to “opt out” of expanding their Medicaid could create a coverage gap in the health reform proposal, which is supposed to extend health insurance to all Americans. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that Democrats’ proposal with the Medicaid expansion would come close, insuring up to 94 percent of Americans and 31 million people who do not currently have health insurance.
Romney Takes Aim at Conservatives 
CPAC: Romney Struggles to Convince Voters
I will find it incredibly ironic if the Republican grandstanding on this issue results in a significant expansion of health care funding to the poor. It’s starting to look like the Right is driving a Blue Dog more liberal!
Posted by: jhw539 | January 7, 2010, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
jhw539– If Republicans push for the removal of sweetheart deals and bribes from the health care bill and Democrats respond by making the bill even worse than it already is, trust me, it won’t reflect poorly on the Republicans. In case you haven’t noticed, voters are already fed up with the way your beloved Dems have handled the health care issue. Engaging in more bad behavior isn’t going to win anybody over (except maybe folks like you).
Posted by: CH | January 7, 2010, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm
Don’t hold your breath, jhw539. Nelson is just “grandstanding” himself.
Posted by: I'm With Stupid | January 7, 2010, 4:55 pm 4:55 pm
I’m with stupid has hit it right on the mark! If Nelson had any grit he would not have voted for this craziness in the first place! The only thing we can hope for is to repeal this junk right after the Nov. elections! Watch on Jan 19 when the special election is held to replace Ted Kennedy…that will be interesting! This Dem, for the first time, will be praying for a Republican replacement! This Dem will never vote for a Dem again!! This is not the old Dem party..this one is unrecognizeable! Never saw such greedy, self-serving ignorance in my 50 years as a DEM!!
Posted by: ross | January 7, 2010, 5:07 pm 5:07 pm
In case you haven’t noticed, voters are already fed up with the way your beloved Dems have handled the health care issue. Engaging in more bad behavior isn’t going to win anybody over (except maybe folks like you).
CH | Jan 7, 2010 4:53:44 PM
Cute how you don’t mention they are even LESS impressed by how the Republicans have handled it. Where were all those simple, incremental fixes all the years Republicans were in power (and the reports they commissioned by the CBO quantified the small scale of savings offered by additional tort reform and such small tweaks)?
The same fight happened over Medicare. That time the nation was being turned into a totalitarian Communist state, and it took 67 Democratic votes in the Senate to over come the Republican fear mongering.
I’ll listen to Republicans the day they quit insulting my intelligence by railing against socialist healthcare while simultaneously demanding not a cent be wrung from Medicare (the entirely socialist healthcare program, that happens to be a wildly popular success).
Posted by: jhw539 | January 7, 2010, 5:26 pm 5:26 pm
ross | Jan 7, 2010 5:07:35 PM
…..I understand your feelings; however, I think the what and who the individual stands for are more important than the letter beside the name. We need people who will represent their constituents, even in the face if Obama/Reid/Pelosi like pressure.
Posted by: deanbob | January 7, 2010, 5:35 pm 5:35 pm
William Joseph Miller | Jan 7, 2010 5:30:53 PM…..Does the infant mortality rate break down into legalreisdents /illegal aliens? How recent are your stats?
Posted by: deanbob | January 7, 2010, 5:39 pm 5:39 pm
We need people who will represent their constituents, even in the face pf Obama/… like pressure.
deanbob | Jan 7, 2010 5:35:33 PM
You do realize that Obama has the documented support of more constituents than anyone else in the government, right?
Posted by: jhw539 | January 7, 2010, 5:41 pm 5:41 pm
JHW – Medicare may be wildly popular, but that is not the same thing as a success. Take a look at the books on Medicare, it is not doing so well. I for one would rather we got rid of all the socialist programs that are on the books. Medicaid, medicare, social security, welfare, food stamps, etc…People tend to seek the path of least resistance and providing for their needs removes the impetus for them to provide for themselves. I am sorry that most of you think we have a duty to provide all of the basic necessities of life for everyone with needs but it simply is not so. First off, I know we are all inured to the amounts of money we see in the news, millions, billions and trillions of dollars being spent on this and that. Throwing it around like there is an endless supply. The problem is that the supply is finite. A massive percentage of the money in our nation is held by a small percentage of the people and what is left to the rest of us is needed so that we can live our lives. I have a daughter to take care of and I do not have the money to ensure she has everything she needs if I have to keep giving 40% of my money away to cover the cost of seemingly unending government programs. If this seems cold and uncaring I can live with that. My daughter is my responsibility, not all of these strangers with their hands out.
Posted by: War919 | January 7, 2010, 6:14 pm 6:14 pm
JHW – You never stop. No other government position is voted on by all of the people. Senators and Representatives only get votes from their respective states, so your statement is true of every sitting president; thus rendering it meaningless with regards to your response to deanbob.
Posted by: War919 | January 7, 2010, 6:18 pm 6:18 pm
Republicans and Democrats together are a cancer which plagues our society with no apparent recourse. Third party candidates offer better ideas but they never get elected and generally allow the worst of the candidates to win by splitting the votes between the two better candidates. Our system is broken as it sits and I see nobody with any ideas on a real way to fix it.
Posted by: War919 | January 7, 2010, 6:21 pm 6:21 pm
didn’t Nebraska have a similiar scholarship system for the football team? I seem to recall some weird deal with local counties sponsoring players or something, thereby defeating the NCAA rules for maximum number of scholarships? I forget the details and might be wrong but I seem to recall something about that a while back….
ps:Nelson did a good job for Nebraska. That is what a Senator is SUPPOSED to do. Look after his state. The problem is Obama and the Fed looking to nationalize everything not a senator trying to get as much pork as he can. The problem is the Feds have too much power/money.
Posted by: Ed | January 7, 2010, 6:23 pm 6:23 pm
Ben “Rollover” Nelson better figure out that the people of Nebraska are furious with him and rightfully so. I can’t believe how mucked up this whole thing is…we never saw negotiations on C Span as was promised like 8 times by oblama…he was going to go over bills line by line and take out pork…..and the lefties believed it…HA!
Posted by: CWG | January 7, 2010, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
Don’t you dare retire Ben, the people of Nebraska want a chance to show their support for you in one last election.
Posted by: jerry | January 7, 2010, 6:57 pm 6:57 pm
jerry….If Ben “Rollover” Nelson has any sense he won’t show his face in Nebraska again.
Posted by: CWG | January 7, 2010, 7:11 pm 7:11 pm
It’s a confusing argument – that he secured special treatment for Nebraska to create an environment where every state would get the same special treatment.
Very confusing. Also very false. He had no intention of getting all the other states involved. But, by pretending to do so now, I guess he’s going after the Brownie Points.
Hope, change, a new vision, a new America, no more of the same… yeah, just politics as usual. Everyone move along…nothing to see here.
Posted by: Shoe | January 7, 2010, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
The post by War919 at 6:14:16pm is absolutely right on. Good stuff.
Posted by: Shoe | January 7, 2010, 7:49 pm 7:49 pm
52% of all babies born in Florida are medicaid babies..think they are all poor Americans?-NOPE. These are mostly anchor babies born to illegals..instant citizens who provide instant access for their extended families to every social service available in this country. Washington, we have a problem…our heart is ten times bigger than our wallet.
So Ben wants every state to partake in his medicaid blackmail bonanza..haha..what a dreadful joke. So if my kid steals candy, its ok as long as he goes back and steals more to share with all his friends?
Posted by: cindy | January 7, 2010, 8:00 pm 8:00 pm
Comparing the outlandish actions/behaviors of the GOP, to the worst actions/behaviors of the Democrats is senseless. Democratic actions should not be justified, by what happened in the past. Democrats were elected to correct the past, not use it as an excuse to conduct themselves in a far more reckless manner.
What is obama doing? and why, thats the issue. He will get no cover by comparison to the GOP, who were voted out to correct the situation. Being on the same low plane is a bitter disappointment to us all. We have been taken advantage of, not represented by the highest office in the land.
Posted by: LDR | January 7, 2010, 8:02 pm 8:02 pm
You do realize that Obama has the documented support of more constituents than anyone else in the government, right? JWH
You need to go back to school. You got some of that Fuzzy MATH working in your head JWH. Obama’s apporval rating is at 45% that means 55% dont support him!
Posted by: jim | January 8, 2010, 10:28 am 10:28 am
Seems that if Big Ben had any ethics
he wouldn’t have put the pork in his
back pocket and said “AYE” so quickly.
These Dems keep pushing the envelope
up to and then beyond common decency.
And they do it with no shame. It seems
that the House has far too many Pelosis
in sheep’s clothing. “Empty the swamp”?
We’re waiting, Nancy.
Posted by: Sir Toby Belch | January 8, 2010, 4:36 pm 4:36 pm