House Democrats are demanding that some Republican governors, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, provide the documents behind their decision to reject Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
House Oversight ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) sent requests Wednesday to Perry, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R).
“In order to better understand the basis for your opposition, I request that you provide … copies of any state-specific analyses, studies, or reports that you ordered, requested or relied on to inform your decision,” Cummings said in the letters.
He specifically asked for how much funding the states would forgo by rejecting Medicaid expansion, how much the states themselves would have had to pay, how many jobs would have been created with Medicaid expansion, and how many residents would have to forgo “preventive services and other medicare care” without expansion.
At the same time, Cummings asked three Republican governors who decided to accept Medicaid expansion — Arizona’s Jan Brewer, Ohio’s John Kasich and New Jersey’s Chris Christie — for the same kind of information, to help explain why they did elect to adopt a key provision of Obamacare.
“Republican governors have disagreed among themselves, with widely differing explanations. Republican governors who support Medicaid expansion have praised the fact that it will provide critical medical services to millions of their constituents while significantly improving their budgets,” Cummings wrote in his letter to Perry.
“In contrast to your Republican colleagues,” he continued, “you have strongly opposed expanding Medicaid for the constituents of your state, stating: ‘It’s like putting 1,000 more people on the Titanic when you know what was going to happen.”
Minority Democrats have no subpoena power, and it’s not clear whether the governors will voluntarily comply with the request
“In order to better understand the basis for your opposition, I request that you provide … copies of any state-specific analyses, studies, or reports that you ordered, requested or relied on to inform your decision,” Cummings said in the letters
And when he gets a resounding answer of crickets, I hope Dem’s are smart enough to point that out in these last few months before midterms as often as possible.
The lack of answers will be used in campaigns. Count on it.
I hope this issue helps to motivate black and hispanic turnout in competitive guv and sen races in states like North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana and especially Wisconsin.
Wow. The words, “Dems” and “Demand” in the same headline?
What’s this strange sensation I’m feeling? Could it be…
Hope?
Perry, Scott & McCrory’s joint answer:
“Because… Because… Because SHUT UP! THAT’S why!”