Posted by
Defend America on Thursday, March 18, 2010 10:14:11 PM
Cornhusker Kickback gets the boot in health bill
By ALAN FRAM and DAVID ESPO
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 18, 2010; 8:13 PM
WASHINGTON -- Bye bye, Cornhusker Kickback. Hello, special treatment for Tennessee and North Dakota.
Democrats unveiling revisions Thursday to their health care overhaul
bill decided to kill the extra $100 million in Medicaid funds for
Nebraska that has become a symbol of backdoor deal making.
But the 153 pages of changes to the massive health care package
include extra money for hospitals in Tennessee that serve large numbers
of low-income patients. And though the bill would revamp the nation's
student loan system to make the government the only lender, one bank -
the state-owned Bank of North Dakota - would be allowed to continue
making student loans.
That provision ended up rubbing Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., the wrong
way. Fearing it would become a target by Republicans in what he said is
"an overly heated partisan environment," he asked the House late
Thursday to remove it from the legislation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031803914.html