In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
thanks to Cursor
Criminals protecting criminals
Medicare Secrecy Inquiry Is Silenced
House Republicans stop Democrats from delving deeper into why the prescription drug bill's true cost estimates were kept from Congress.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday shut down an inquiry by Democrats into whether the Bush administration acted illegally or inappropriately last year when it withheld from Congress its estimates of the true cost of the Medicare prescription drug bill.
At issue are allegations that then-Medicare Administrator Thomas A. Scully threatened to fire his top actuary if he gave lawmakers his analyses showing the costs would be much higher than administration officials were saying publicly.
Thursday's conclusion of a Ways and Means Committee hearing all but ensured that two individuals central to the controversy — Scully and White House aide Doug Badger — would not testify before Congress.
Separately, the Health and Human Services Department is conducting an internal investigation into the matter, and Democratic lawmakers have requested civil and criminal inquiries.
Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee had asked Scully and Badger to answer questions about when President Bush and top-ranking officials were told that internal estimates of the Medicare bill's cost were more than one-third higher than the $400 billion Bush had set aside, and why those analyses had not been shared with lawmakers.
But White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales, in a letter to committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield), cited "long-standing White House policy" against having White House staff members testify before Congress as the reason Badger would not appear.
And Scully, now a private consultant, said in a letter to Thomas that he was unable to appear before the committee because "unfortunately, for the past ten days I have been traveling."
Committee Democrats rejected both explanations. In the case of Badger, they said at least 45 high-ranking Clinton administration officials had testified before Congress; in the case of Scully, they offered to let him appear at a later time. But Republicans quashed the Democrats' attempts to subpoena the men. Emphasis mine.
- rob 1:24 PM - [PermaLink] -
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