Much has been made of the “tough negotiations” and “compromises” which took place this month in order to move ObamaCare forward. A 383 page package of amendments was added to the already 2,074 page piece of legislation. Despite these Senators claims of holding out for amendments based on principles, it appears that they held out for something else entirely.
One of the striking features of this bill is the amount of money going toward home-state provisions. Sen. Mary Landrieu secured $300 million in Medicaid benefits for Louisiana. Max Baucus procured the funding of Medicare benefits for asbestos related illnesses in Montana. Sen Chris Dodd (who faces an uphill re-election campaign next year) added $100 million to the bill for construction of a university hospital on behalf of the University of Connecticut. The list goes on and on (for 383 pages to be exact), but one of the most expensive provisions is from the oh-so principled “conservative” Ben Nelson. It appears as though Sen. Nelson was not only granted a lengthy list of smaller benefits for his home state, but he also secured a commitment from the federal government (and by federal government I mean every taxpayer who lives outside of Nebraska) to pick up the entire tab on the expansion of Medicaid for the state of Nebraska. So there you have it. It seems as though very little time was spent hammering out policy issues in those closed door meetings. The real negotiations were about the price of a United States Senator’s vote.
“Tough negotiations” and “compromises?” So that’s what they’re calling bribery and theft these days!