Saturday, April 19, 2008
Republicans will break the law to screw kids
And, no, I am not talking about the usual Republican pedophilia, though if history is a guide there is plenty waiting for exposure. No, this time it is another chapter in the sordid Republican story on SCHIP. It seems that in their haste to deny coverage to as many kids as possible, Our Dear Embattled Leader was issuing orders that contravened existing law.
The Bush administration violated federal law last year when it restricted states’ ability to provide health insurance to children of middle-income families, and its new policy is therefore unenforceable, lawyers from the Government Accountability Office said Friday.But it takes more than a formal legal opinion to deter this administration from their lawless ways. Indeed, they have built their legacy on the deliberate refusal to follow the law.
In a formal legal opinion Friday, the accountability office said the new policy “amounts to a marked departure” from a longstanding, settled interpretation of federal law. It is therefore a rule and, under a 1996 law, must be submitted to Congress for review before it can take effect, the opinion said.
But Jeff Nelligan, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, “G.A.O.’s opinion does not change our conclusion that the Aug. 17 letter is still in effect.”Or to put it in outside the Beltway English, "Our Dear Leader has spoken, screw the kids".
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