Congressman Greg Harper on CMS Appointment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC – The White House is at it again. This time the President has used a recess appointment to fill the top vacancy at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The President is ignoring the Constitution and the American people in the middle of a critical election year.

Some Washington insiders have defended the President, claiming that “Republicans in Congress [had] made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points.” Considering the Democratic leadership never called a hearing on the President’s nomination, Republicans were never afforded a chance to delay his confirmation. To boot, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus voiced his concern that public questioning was removed saying, “Senate confirmation of presidential appointees is an essential process prescribed by the Constitution that serves as a check on executive power…”
And what about the President’s pick? Dr. Donald Berwick has publicly knocked the free market and supports rationing as a cost control mechanism. Dr. Berwick will oversee an $803 billion budget at CMS and is responsible for implementing the bulk of the overreaching “Affordable Care Act.” His responsibilities will only grow under this new health care law as the CMS administrator has be tasked with reducing Medicare benefits nearly $523 billion. Yet Members of the U.S. Senate, both Republican and Democratic, were denied the opportunity to question Dr. Berwick regarding his plans for steering this federal agency.

This appointment comes amid the White House’s campaign to sell their new health care law. The Administration has used taxpayer money to mail 4 million postcards to small businesses and millions of dollars touting a $250 Medicare rebate check that only 1 in 10 beneficiaries will ever receive.

While the President may have dodged a painful Senate confirmation process, this recess appointment has brought new light to the health care debate, reminding concerned citizens of just how damaging this law could be. Mississippians deserve to know that the current health care law will result in lost coverage, raise taxes, cut Medicare and create a new government entitlement program.

For someone who has claimed to be “committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government,” the President sure has spent a lot of time telling just one side of the story.
So I ask the President: Why aren’t you being open about the 87 million Americans who could lose access to their current health care plan under the “Affordable Care Act?” Why aren’t you advertising the $569 billion in new taxes as part of your health care campaign? Why aren’t you promoting the $523 billion in reduced Medicare benefits in the mailing to seniors about rebate checks? And why do you continue to hide behind procedural gimmicks to avoid public reckoning for someone appointed to control a bureaucracy whose budget is larger than 15 of the world’s economies?
If the President were focused on real solutions to control the cost of health care, he would embrace Republican proposals that would lower health care premiums by up to 20 percent compared to the Democratic Members’ plan.
Of course, the White House will defend Dr. Berwick’s appointment and the taxing “Affordable Care Act.” But if the President should opt to show his commitment to transparency in government, he can start with confirmation hearings for his appointees.
For more information, visit www.harper.house.gov.