December 23, 2009
Court battle begins over Nelson Medicare goody in Obamacare
Ben Nelson's taking a lot of heat for accepting the Reid bribe of a free pass on Medicaid to sign on to the Reid health care fiasco. Even the state's biggest newspaper is poking fun at him and one of my correspondents indicates he'd not be surprised if the Senator chooses not to be the ex-Senator from Nebraska by voting against the bill when it comes to a final vote after conference.
In the meantime, seven states' attorneys, lead by South Carolina are considering bringing suit if the Nebraska provision is in the final bill:
The top prosecutors in seven states are probing the constitutionality of a political deal that cut a funding break for Nebraska in order to pass a federal health care reform bill, South Carolina's attorney general said Tuesday.
Attorney General Henry McMaster said he and his counterparts in Alabama, Colorado, Michigan, North Dakota, Texas and Washington state - all Republicans - are jointly taking a look at the deal they've dubbed the "Nebraska compromise."
"The Nebraska compromise, which permanently exempts Nebraska from paying Medicaid costs that Texas and all other 49 states must pay, may violate the United States Constitution - as well as other provisions of federal law," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.
Clarice Feldman