Senators Cost Home States $300 Million
Posted by daniel | Filed under General, Politics
US Citizens in nearly every state awoke this morning to the news of the Senate passing its version of the Health Care Reform bill, but what most citizens haven’t realized yet is that their US Senators cost them as much as $300 Million in cash payments, cost deferments or additional benefits as part of the legislation.
For the sake of argument, let’s put aside our opinions on the merits of the Health Care bill itself and instead ask some tough questions about the people who represented us during these negotiations.
Senators from Louisiana, Vermont, Nebraska, Nevada, and one other unnamed State, demonstrated shrewd skill in representing their constituents by securing 10’s, or even 100’s of millions of US Dollars in return for their vote on this bill. Meanwhile, citizens of the other 40+ states will not only miss out on these windfalls, they will pick up the lion’s share of the tab.
“You will find a number of states are treated differently than other states…That’s what legislation is all about. It’s compromise.” Harry Reid - Dec 19
Nebraska’s Ben Nelson was amazing. He was able to get terms written into the bill that required all US Taxpayers to pay Nebraska’s Medicaid increases - forever. Very Shrewd. Bernie Sanders secured $100 Million. Mary Landrieu is rumored to have gotten in the neighborhood of $300 Million for her vote. And Massachusetts reportedly will get hundreds of millions in Medicaid offsets too. More details on these deals here.
While many on the right are correctly screaming that these are outright bribes hiding in plain sight, what all citizens should be asking is where is ours, Senator? What did we get for your vote? Why didn’t you represent us as well as these other Senators represented their states?
Illinois has the 2nd highest ranking Democrat in the Senate. What extras are we getting Mr. Durbin? You’re number two. How did a Senator from Nebraska, who voted exactly the same as you, get all of us to pay for his State’s medicaid increases while you brought us home nothing but the bill?
Regardless of which State you live in, it’s obvious that any of the ‘yea’ voting Senators could have gotten as much as $300 Million for their home state. By toeing the party line and not asking hard questions - which is supposed to be their job - they cost your state hundreds of millions of dollars. I don’t know how it works in every state, but I’m pretty sure they fire people for much much less. The American public better clean house in 2010 or plan on sending their Senators to Sicily for basic training.
Tags: ben nelson, dick durbin, harry reid, healthcare, illinois, legislation, medicaid, nebraska, nevada, Politics, vermont
Since 1996, Daniel Bryan has personally designed more than 130 custom websites and developed more than 60 custom applications - winning more than a dozen awards along the way. He has managed or contributed on more than 300 projects and has provided consulting services to dozens of companies. Daniel’s client list includes Pulte Homes, Calyx Software, Nicklaus Properties, and Hospitality Information Services (HIS). He's also donated his talents on projects for Autism Speaks and Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).