Playing Politics with Medicare

February 5, 2004

The details surrounding the new Medicare legislation become more sinister every day. First, congressional leadership violated traditional House procedures in extending the voting period on the bill to three hours to coerce more support after the initial tally came up short. Then, Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) confessed to the Associated Press – later recanting – that he switched his vote to support the legislation after receiving what he described as "the most intense and strongest pressure to change my vote that I’ve ever experienced," including promises of $100,000 from business interests to help his son’s campaign. Now, the White House has unveiled a new television advertising initiative – distributed by the media firm working for the president’s reelection campaign – to defend the Medicare bill using $9.5 million in funds from the Department of Health and Human Services, with another $3.1 million allocated for print, radio, and Spanish-language ads.

• There are real problems with the Medicare legislation that the president needs to address – on his own dime. Opponents of the legislation argue the changes will force beneficiaries out of traditional Medicare and into managed care plans while providing weak drug benefits that don’t match current ones – genuine concerns raised by both Democrats and Republicans alike. The president is clearly worried that the public will learn the truth about the legislation and should use his own millions in campaign funds – not taxpayer dollars – to defend his policies.
• The president should pull these misleading and blatantly political ads off the air immediately. Even the conservative National Taxpayers Union has called for the president's Medicare ad to be pulled, stating the ad looks like "an election-year ploy rather than a genuine public service announcement."
• Congress should investigate whether federal laws were violated in passing the Medicare bill or in using taxpayer money to finance political advertising. The public has a right to know whether federal bribery laws were violated in the initial passage of the Medicare bill and whether it is legal to use taxpayer funds to pay for advertising defending the legislation.

Daily Talking Points is a product of the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan research and educational institute committed to progressive principles for a strong, just and free America.