Report: Withholding Medicare Costs Legal

[cal04]

Bush administration officials broke no laws in withholding from Congress estimates of the cost of the new Medicare law, says an internal investigation made public Tuesday.

The Health and Human Services Department inspector general, the agency's internal watchdog, said its three-month investigation found that administration officials used aggressive tactics to keep from Congress its much higher estimates of the legislation's cost -- $100 billion more than the president and other officials were acknowledging.


Bill Pierce, an HHS spokesman, said Tuesday's report showed the administration acted properly. ``We hope that with the release of this report we can put behind us the political squabbling and move on to the important work of implementing the new law,'' Pierce said.

Democrats, however, said the inspector general's inquiry was narrowly tailored, underscoring the need for an independent investigation that also looks at what role the White House played in the suppression of information.

``It sounds as though the Bush administration examined itself and found it did nothing wrong,'' said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means health subcommittee.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Medicare-Cost.html

[candy]

1. The Medicare prescription law is a waste of taxpayer $$$$$$

[fearnobush]

2. These people are fucking criminals, can someone on the hill PLEASE

get some balls, block the doorway to the house, anything to spawn an independent investigation. For FUCKS Sake.

[rwheeler31]

3. We broke no laws? What?

This is nuts.

[Zorra]

4. Every freakin' government agency needs to be exorcised in

January. They are all dishonest lying corrupt immoral fascists placed in their positions by a thoroughly rotten administration that asks them to lie and cheat and they go along with it.:mad:

[Sagan]

5. is anything Cheneying illegal anymore?

Secret meetings to decide public policies? Fine. Indefinite criminal detentions? No problem! Lying to Congress about tens of billions of dollars? It's all good!