Anti-Health Care America Hating Conservatives media smear Democrats with allegations of "special deals" in health bill
Right-wing media have repeatedly attacked health care reform and smeared Democrats with baseless allegations that the Obama administration has attempted to buy votes or has cut "special deals" or "bribes" for health care reform.
Smear: Rep. Gordon traded his vote for NASA administrator job
Human Events reports "rumor" that Rep. Gordon was promised a NASA job. In a March 17 article, Human Events reported that there was a rumor that Rep. Bart Gordon "has been promised the job of NASA administrator":
"Most interesting rumor from the Hill yesterday: Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) who announced his retirement from Congress has been promised the job of NASA administrator in exchange for his vote."
The article did not cite a source for the rumor.
Gordon: "If it was offered to me, I would not accept." According to The Hill, Gordon denied that any offer was made, reportedly saying: "If it was offered to me, I would not accept."
Smear: Tennessee received special funding for Medicaid treatments to bribe Gordon
Fox repeats GOP claim that "Gordon changed his vote ... after he got $100 million for Tennessee hospitals that treat the poor." On the March 19 edition of Fox News' Special Report, correspondent Brian Wilson said: "Deals still alive for the moment? Well, Republicans claim that Democrat Bart Gordon changed his vote from 'yes' -- from 'no' to 'yes' after he got $100 million for Tennessee hospitals that treat the poor."
Under bill, $100 million would go to Medicaid hospital reimbursements that TN -- unlike most other states -- would otherwise be deprived of. A March 19 Nashville Business Journal article reported that Tennessee's entire House delegation -- consisting of both Democrats and Republicans -- sought a $100 million fix to replace Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) reimbursements that Tennessee would otherwise not receive. The article reported:
The imbalance has existed since Tennessee gave up its payments when it created TennCare in the 1990s -- and it has been similarly addressed by lawmakers in the past. Early last year, a $32.8 billion bill to insure poor children included a provision extending DSH payments to Tennessee hospitals by $30 million a year for two years.
In a May 2009 letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee requesting the DSH funding, Tennessee's congressional delegation stated that the state "is one of only two" with "no DSH payment."
Changes to Senate bill would give DSH payments to states that otherwise would receive no payments after FY2011. The House Rules Committee summary of the changes describes Sec. 1203:
Sec. 1203. Disproportionate share hospital payments. Lowers the reduction in federal Medicaid DSH payments from $18.1 billion to $14.1 billion and advances the reductions to begin in fiscal year 2014. Directs the Secretary to develop a methodology for reducing federal DSH allotments to all states in order to achieve the mandated reductions. Extends through FY 2013 the federal DSH allotment for a state that has a $0 allotment after FY 2011.
Smear: Nebraska will get a "new" VA hospital in exchange for health vote
Wash. Times: Health-vote ally Nelson to get new VA hospital for Nebraska. The Washington Times reported that "the Obama administration has delivered another budget plum to Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson and the state of Nebraska, adding more than a half-billion dollars for a new veterans hospital in Omaha," and falsely claimed that the "Veterans Administration made the budget switch during internal deliberations in 2009 at a time when the White House was wooing the moderate Democrat to vote for President Obama's health care overhaul bill."
Omaha World-Herald: VA was "signaling a new hospital" in Omaha "months before the critical health care votes in the Senate." On March 20, the Omaha World-Herald reported that August 2009 Senate testimony from Donald Orndoff, director of the office of construction and facilities management for the Veterans Administration, "directly contradicts a report in Friday's Washington Times that VA officials had told the Senate during that month that they were recommending a renovation of the existing Omaha hospital, not a much more costly new one," and that "it indicates that VA officials were signaling a new hospital was likely to be funded months before the critical health care votes in the Senate."
Smear: Connecticut hospitals get special funding under health bill
Fox cited Connecticut provision as a "special deal" that is "still in the bill." Fox News has repeatedly claimed that the health care reform legislation includes a "hospital handout" that Sen. Chris Dodd inserted as a "special deal" that is "still in the bill" for Connecticut hospitals.
Connecticut would reportedly have to compete for the hospital funds. The Hartford Courant reported that Connecticut would have to compete for the funds, and Dodd reportedly said that at least 14 other states could apply for the grant. Text of the Senate health bill as passed states that the $100 million grant for "infrastructure to expand access to health care" "may only be made available by the Secretary of Health and Human Services upon the receipt of an application from the Governor of a State" that meets certain requirements.
Proposed UConn hospital part of Republican Gov. Rell's health care proposal. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, has reportedly proposed a $352 million University of Connecticut Health Center that would rely on $100 million in federal funds that Connecticut would have to compete for under the provision inserted by Dodd.
Smear: "Louisiana Purchase" was a "corrupt" deal
Right-wing media call the Louisiana Medicaid fix "corrupt." Following the inclusion of a provision that provided funding for Louisiana's Medicaid program, right-wing media outlets portrayed it as "corrupt," while the AP called it one of "a rash of ethics lapses" which "has given Democrats an election-year headache."
Fix urgently needed to fix state's Medicaid problems, a result of Hurricane Katrina, and state's GOP lawmakers say fix is necessary. The Times-Picayune reported on January 22 that "[Sen. Mary] Landrieu [R-LA] secured a provision, which she priced at $300 million, to fix the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage [FMAP] for Louisiana." The article explained that the "FMAP refers to the percentage of a state's payments under Medicaid that are covered by the federal government. Louisiana usually gets a higher match because of how poor the state is, but because of all the recovery and rebuilding money that poured in after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, state per capita income spiked long enough to throw the formula out of kilter and threaten to blow a hole [in] the state budget."
Moreover, Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal's fiscal year 2010-2011 budget proposal says that the "Louisiana state government faces significant, multi-year budget challenges, compounded by a faulty federal FMAP formula that, if not corrected in Washington, D.C., will cost the state approximately $500 million a year in Medicaid funding, impacting services for the poorest in our state, and often those who need care the most."
Smear: Right-wing media baselessly allege Obama admin. "bribed" Dems with water allocation
Right-wing media outlets claim Obama "bribed" California Dems for votes. The Wall Street Journal claimed that an Interior Department decision to increase water allocations to California's Central Valley was "apparently the price for Democrats Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa to vote something other than their consciences" on health care reform. Glenn Beck claimed the Democrats are "so far past the line of evil," they are "using water as a weapon" to get health care votes, while Sean Hannity said, "I'm guessing" the health care vote and water allocation announcement "are closely linked."
Right-wing allegations of bribery ignore reporting that the allocation increase is due to more winter rain. In a March 17 article, the Journal noted that California's Central Valley had been experiencing severe drought, and that, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the "increase is made possible in part because winter rains have helped replenish the state's biggest reservoir, Lake Shasta, which now stands at 81% of capacity, compared with 55% a year ago." The article further reported that Salazar "said he moved up the announcement by a week or so 'because people on the ground and farming need to have certainty.' " The Journal reported that Salazar's announcement "further eas[ed] drought concerns in a state where El Niño rains have raised the mountain snowpack after three severely dry years."
Both representatives have denied allegations of bribery. Both Cardoza and Costa have denied allegations that their votes were influenced by water allocations: Costa called the accusations "laughable, and certainly false," and Cardoza stated that he is "not satisfied with the water allocation."
Smear: Obama bribing Rep. Matheson by appointing his brother to appeals court
Weekly Standard's McCormack, others accuse Obama of "selling judgeships for health care votes." A March 3 Weekly Standard post by John McCormack was headlined "Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes? Obama names brother of undecided House Dem to Appeals Court." Hot Air blogger Allahpundit headlined a post on the subject "Brother of Democrat who's undecided on ObamaCare nominated for federal judgeship." The post further stated, "His exact words this afternoon: 'I will do everything in my power to make the case for reform.' And so he will, so he will." In a March 3 post headlined "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Bribe 'Em: Obama Now Trading Judgeships For Votes," RedState's Lori Ziganto wrote, "Chicago-style politics once again coming home to roost."
WH, Judge McConnell and Sen. Bennett debunk Matheson smear. Noting that McCormack's "report raises the question but doesn't answer it," Politico's Chris Frates reported that Rep. Matheson's spokeswoman "called the question 'patently ridiculous,' saying there was no deal made between her boss and the president that guaranteed Scott Matheson's nomination in exchange for Rep. Matheson's vote." Frates later noted that a "White House official calls the charge 'absurd.' 'Scott Matheson is a leading law scholar and has served as a law school dean and U.S. Attorney. He's respected across Utah and eminently qualified to serve on the federal bench,' the official said." Likewise, a spokesman for Republican Sen. Robert Bennett (UT), and former Judge Michael McConnell -- an appointee of former President Bush -- who last occupied the seat to which Scott Matheson has been named, definitively debunked the smear.
Smear: WH "threatening to close" Offutt Air Force Base "to extort" Ben Nelson's vote
Goldfarb promotes "presumably pretty well sourced" senators' call for investigation. The Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb's wrote that "[t]wenty Republican senators have requested that the Senate Armed Services Committee launch an investigation into reports that the Obama White House threatened to close Nebraska's Offutt Air Force base unless Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson fell into line on health care. Those reports first appeared on this blog. In the letter to Senators [Carl] Levin and [John] McCain, the committee chairman and ranking member, the 20 ask that 'a hearing be held as to whether the BRAC [Base Realignment and Closure] process has been compromised."
Nelson spokesman and White House: "The rumor is not true." The Omaha World-Herald reported on December 15 that Nelson spokesman Jake Thompson said, "The rumor is not true," and, "This misinformation is coming from inside-the-Beltway partisans who only want to derail health care reform." Moreover, in a December 15 blog post, White House Communications director Dan Pfeiffer stated:
Proving that they will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to undermine health reform, some blogs opposing reform are now trafficking an absurd rumor that Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base is being threatened over Senator Ben Nelson's vote on the Senate reform bill.
To be perfectly clear: these rumors are completely baseless and false.
Thanks for your time.
Smear: Bank of North Dakota given special exemption to ensure passage of health care reform
Wallace cites "one deal for the one bank in North Dakota as a "special deal" that is "still in the bill." A March 19 Power Line post stated, "Although the package nationalizes the student loan system, one bank -- the state-owned Bank of North Dakota -- would be allowed to continue making student loans. Such a deal for North Dakota's Democratic congressional delegation facing massive opposition to Obamacare back home." On the March 21 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, Wallace asked Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), "[D]idn't Speaker Pelosi end up using a lot of taxpayer money to buy votes for this bill?" Wallace listed what he claimed were "special deals" that would ensure passage of the health care reform bill, citing as an example "the one deal for the one bank in North Dakota."
Manager's amendment removed state-owned bank provision. A proposal that would have exempted state-owned banks from a provision to eliminate federal subsidies for private lenders -- originally contained on Page 145 of the reconciliation bill -- was removed from the reconciliation bill that will be voted on by the House. From the manager's amendment:
Page 145, beginning on line 18, strike section 2213 (and redesignate the succeeding section accordingly).
Politics Daily: "Special Provision for North Dakota Bank Removed From Health Bill." A March 18 Politics Daily article reported that "Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) Thursday sought the removal of a special provision he had written into the package of fixes to the Senate health care bill that would have applied only to the Bank of North Dakota. The provision would have allowed the Bank of North Dakota to continue to originate and service student loans even though a pending overhaul says that all such loans will originate through the U.S. Department of Education, beginning July 1."
