Back in December, Cheney had to cut an overseas trip to come back and cast the tie breaking vote that would cause the Government to cut funding for the elderly, sick, infirm, those down on their luck, and children. They wanted that, so that they could keep tax cuts for the millionaires and billionaires in place. What happenned though is the Senate passed a bill that had a provision for Medicare payments of oxygen tanks, wheelchairs, and hospital beds at 13 months. AFTER it was passed, the Senate clerk changed 13 months to 36 months. The House passed a bill for funding at 36 months, and then the President signed the law.
This is unconstitutional. The bills have to be identical, or they cannot be upheld. The group Public Citizen, a watchdog group, is suing in US District Court to overturn the entire thing.
What’s the best part of this for Dems? This is an election year, and Republicans are going to have a DAMN hard time trying to cut Grandma’s Medicare and Aunt Susie’s developmentally challenged son’s funding – to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy.
Finally, the Republicans in Congress have done something that I approve of – they screwed themselves over!