He's No Stupak

(Weekly Standard)  James C. Capretta is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a health policy consultant. Yuval Levin, also a fellow at EPPC, is the editor of National Affairs.

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In a radio interview on Thursday, Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson boasted that, compared to some of his colleagues, he was a "cheap date," holding out as he was as a matter of principle and not for some outlandish dropping of federal largesse in Nebraska.

Now that Senator Nelson has announced his intention to vote to end debate on the Reid bill, it's worth looking at whether his actions match his words.
For days, Senator Nelson insisted that his pressing concern was abortion. He didn't like the language in the Reid legislation that would effectively allow taxpayer subsidies to flow to insurance plans covering elective abortions. He told his colleagues and his home state pro-life supporters that he wouldn't settle for anything less than Hyde-like language, such as was successfully pushed by Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak in the House.

The model here is the federal employees health benefits program (FEHBP). Taxpayer money pays for a large portion of the health insurance premium for federal workers. Consequently, the law has, for many years, prohibited any insurance plan participating in the program from offering coverage of elective abortions. That's right. No Member of Congress, even ardent pro-abortion advocates, is allowed to sign up with an insurance plan that pays for abortion-on-demand. This is long-standing and settled policy, and has not been all that controversial with the public for many years.

The new insurance exchanges would, like FEHBP, offer various insurance plans to enrollees, and for the vast majority of participants, federal subsidies would pay for a portion of the premium. Pro-lifers have rightly insisted that as the federal government "manages" and subsidizes insurance choices for more people, an FEHBP-like restriction is what's needed, and that's exactly what Rep. Stupak's amendment would accomplish.

But that's not what's in the new Reid bill. The new Reid language that Senator Nelson now finds acceptable would allow federal subsidies to flow to plans that cover elective abortions in the insurance exchanges. Senate Democrats try to create the impression that only the enrollees' premiums will pay for the abortion coverage. But it's an artificial bookkeeping exercise. Taxpayer funding would support the same insurance policies that pay for abortions. Senator Nelson is touting the fact that states can enact laws which prohibit elective abortions in the exchanges (the so-called "opt out"), but that was already permissible under the previous Reid language. And in any event a state can't protect its taxpayers from financing abortions beyond its borders. Senator Nelson's "compromise" leaves Nebraska's voters entirely vulnerable to paying for California's and New York's abortions.

What's worse, one of the two "national" plans overseen by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and offered in the state-based exchanges would explicitly cover elective abortions unless a state fully opted out.

And this is after days of Senator Nelson supposedly representing pro-life interests behind Harry Reid's closed doors. One can only imagine how much worse it would be if he were still "negotiating."

It appears, however, that Senator Nelson had a bit more leverage in other areas of the bill. Beginning in 2017, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the costs for new Medicaid enrollees in Nebraska. No other state gets such treatment. You have to wonder what senators from other states (and their constituents) will think of such a deal. At least Senator Nelson can say he didn't sell out his pro-life concerns on the cheap.

A winter storm is burying Washington today. There might be a foot or two of accumulation before it's all over. Probably as good a day as any to discover Senator Nelson's recent pronouncements were nothing but a snow job.



By James C. Capretta and Yuval Levin:
Reprinted with permission from The Weekly Standard

[ianlou]

Bart Stupak represents a very beautiful and remote area of America, all of Northern Michigan. Stupak represents more Deer than People and more Elk than Minorities. His idea of minorities are the Finlanders in the U.P.

[platteman]

Nelson was all talk, all he wanted was money for his state. Pretty bad when Chicago politics goes to Nebraska. The Cornhusker Payoff. Nelson is a travisty to the word Senator. He is just like all the others corrupt and not worth the the honor of being called Senator.

[luadda22]

Why is it called bribery when a business man offers Senator money to vote for a project that he is interested in and is against the law, but its business a usual if the government does it? How do the rest of you feel about having to pay not only for your own states shortfall (i.e. higher taxes) in Medicare funding but having to pay for all the people in Nebraska and Michigan also. Heck you give me $300 million (Louisiana) and I'll vote however you want me to. I may be easy, but I?m not cheep.

[ALBrainTrust10]

HYDE LANGUAGE MINIMUM!

LET THOSE THAT WANT ABORTION COVERAGE PAY 100% OF THE COST FOR A COMPLETELY SEPARATE INSURANCE RIDER!!

"NELSON LANGUAGE" WILL NOT RECEIVE ENOUGH VOTES IN HOUSE...STUPAK LANGUAGE SHOULD GET NELSON'S VOTE IN SENATE!!!

[jaykay3141]

In his sincere wishes to limit abortions, Sen. Nelson is willing to let 40 million or so Americans continue to go without health insurance - coverage that would give those people better access to health care so fewer of them will die prematurely. Does this mean the rights of the unborn matter, but not those of the already-alive? What am I missing here??

[JEngdahlJ]

Having a sense of déjà vu over the suggestion of expanding FEHBP to cover the uninsured? There's good reason. Learn more about potential unintended consequences at http://www.healthcaretownhall.com/?p=1923

[diamruby]

The only reason religous organizations are against abortion is they need the money they make off of every living soul they can scare into believing in their lies. The bottom line for them is money, a high life style for themselves & tax exemption status for all their worldly goods. If these religous organizations were not tax exempt their true colors would show for all to see. With all the money given to these organizations there should not be any one in need or going hungry. Stop bringing children into this world that you cannot provide for.

[Rdt4]

Whatever else, abortion is an atrocity that terminates the life of innocent Human Beings. I appreciate that there are some Men and Women in Congress who are doing what they can to help keep me from being an accessory to Murder by not allowing my paid taxes go towards paying for abortion.
Life is a Person's most fundamental right, and abortion (the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a Fetus/Embryo, resulting in or caused by its death) denies helpless, innocent Human Beings the fundamental right to life.
There have been 40+million abortions a year worldwide for years, that's more lives terminated by abortion than any other atrocity (according to my resources, an encyclopedia.)
I pray for change that will acknowledge a Prenatal Child as the helpless, innocent Human Being that it is, worthy of all the protections of the 14th Amendment, the Right to Life.

[us_1776]

Why don't you do a little research about the impact that lack of abortion has around the world. Take the Phillipines where Catholic doctrine has caused an explosion of population which has resulted in the painful starving deaths of millions of young mothers and their children. These are full sentient beings that experience pain and misery and a horrible death. And all this because we have right-wingnuts who cannot understand that aborting a peanut sized 'potential' life can save a mother from a life of misery and death and death to her other children.

[starving1968-1]

That's completely irrelevant to this discussion.

If you want to try and outlaw abortions, then do it in it's own separate legislation.

This is a "health care reform bill" - NOT a "health care reform and movement to outlaw abortions bill".

[starving1968-1]

"The Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) is a Washington, D.C.-based socially-conservative interest group. Formed in 1976 by Ernest W. Lefever, who was its president until 1989, the group describes itself as "dedicated to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy."







Your kind isn't wanted here.

You want to live in a theocracy, then pack your bags and get your azzzes over to Israel where you belong.

[Rdt4]

Being as I'm past the prenatal stage of life, my kind not being wanted here isn't going to get me aborted by you or any other pro-choicer who's solution to solving an unwanted pregnancy is abortion (the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a Fetus/Embryo, resulting in or caused by its death.) Life is precious and I'll continue to pray for the innocent who may not experience life because of someone elses belief in choice, the choice to terminate the life of another innocent human being. There is no doubt in my mind a person (choicer) who is insensitive to the lives of their own Prenatal Children is also capable of being insensitive to other innocent lives. I hope to have given you some insight that may affect your choice.

[slownewsday___]

"I'll continue to pray"

Well, at least you're spinning your wheels.

[fxr60]

Help! I can't remember all the bribes. Let's see there was a Rep. in the district of New Orleans that got his palm greased. One in California ( Maybe more) and who could forget Mary Landrieu from Louisiana and her 300 million bribe. Now we have Ben Nelson and "free tax forever" in his state on medicare/medicaid taxes that the rest of us will have to pay. I'am sure that there are others, all at the taxpayers expense! Can we say corrupt Chicago style politics? I think we can. We have to change this in 2010 and 2012!!!!