John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are refusing to make any recommendations for the Death Panels:
The top two Republicans in Congress informed President Obama on Thursday that they will refuse to fulfill their duty under the Affordable Care Act to recommend members of a new board with the power to contain Medicare spending.
It’s a dramatic power-play driven by the explosive partisan politics of Obamacare and with potentially important implications for federal health care policy.
In a letter to President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) noted their original opposition to Obamacare, reiterated their intent to repeal it entirely, and declared that they would not make any appointments to the Independent Payment Advisory Board.
Under the law, the Secretary of Health & Human Services is authorized to make the cost containment decisions if the IPAB isn’t established, so this won’t stop the implementation of ObamaCare. Ironically, it simply cedes more power to the Obama administration.
It will allow the Republicans to politicize any cost-cutting decisions but it also points out their hypocrisy. They claim that Medicare is too expensive and needs to be voucherized, but they are opposed to a board that would make Medicare more affordable.
The Republicans are already refusing to confirm members to the Federal Election Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the National Labor Relations Board.
Maybe this is how the Confederates should have behaved instead of seceding. They could have just broken the federal government with obstruction and a refusal to confirm anyone to serve in it.
In any case, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will now have full responsibility for the Death Panels.
