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Democrats Wont Join Medicaid Commission as
Non-Voting Members
May 26, 2005 House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid announced today they will
decline to appoint non-voting members to the Bush Administration's
Medicaid Commission. They cited the partisan nature of the Commission
and the $10 billion in cuts for Medicaid by the Republicans as reasons.
Following is their statement:
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"After much deliberation, we have decided not to
appoint Members of the Senate and House as non-voting members of the
Administration's Medicaid Commission. An invitation to Democrats to
select four Members of the Senate and House to advisory roles without a
vote is wholly inadequate to lend any Commission even the air of
bipartisanship.
"In contrast, the Administration will select all 15
voting members and 15 'non-voting advisor members,' with Senate and
House Republicans invited to select four non-voting advisory Members of
the House and Senate. Not only is it inadequate to offer four selections
out of 38 positions to Democrats, but it is inappropriate to offer any
Member of the House or Senate, whether Democrat or Republican, a
non-voting role on such a Commission.
"Unfortunately, the partisan nature of the
Commission and the lack of voting rights are not our only reasons for
refusing to appoint Members.
"We fundamentally disagree with the premise that
this Commission should make recommendations on how to cut Medicaid
outlays by $10 billion by September 1. While we need to reduce the
deficit, we should not make cuts affecting the most vulnerable Americans
in order to finance more tax cuts for the wealthy. If there are budget
cuts to be made, we should also look to other initiatives within the
jurisdictions of the relevant Committees.
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"It is unprecedented that Congress would direct the
Committees of jurisdiction to cut a program by $10 billion in a budget
resolution, and then participate as non-voting advisors in a separate
Commission of unelected membership to recommend how those cuts should be
accomplished. If Congress can decide how much to cut, it does not need a
Commission to figure out how to cut the program. To the contrary, it is
the responsibility of the elected Congress to make such cuts, and
Members who support those cuts should be held accountable for those
decisions.
"The Ranking Democrats of the Committee with
jurisdiction over Medicaid -- Senator Max Baucus and Congressman John
Dingell -- wrote a thoughtful letter to Health and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt two weeks ago. That letter set forth how a
balanced and independent Medicaid Commission should be constituted, and
how it should operate to make recommendations to Congress.
"Unfortunately, all of their significant
suggestions were rejected. Furthermore, there was no consultation with
us or the Ranking Members on how a Commission should be formed.
"Medicaid is a crucial program that serves almost
60 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, seniors, and
people with disabilities. We have no confidence that this Commission,
particularly in this time frame, could make recommendations that would
improve and strengthen this program. Therefore, for the sake of
taxpayers, the people that this program serves, and our partners in the
states, we have no choice but to decline this invitation."
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