Hundreds Of Former Lawmakers And Congressional Staffers Hired To Lobby On Health Care

Washington Post:

The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[fcsakes]

It's sickening to read justifications for the defection of these traitors against the people of the United States. The real and only reason they are fighting to undermine true health care reform is for the MONEY. They are whores. I admit I did not read all three pages of that cr*p - could barely get through the first page. If only we ordinary citizens who are fighting for each other, not for-profit health care, could make one half what these lobbyists are making, perhaps we wouldn't need honest health care reform either.

We do it for free.

[BigHeadTodd]

This $1M-a-day behavior just goes to show you what happens when an industry falls in lust with making money over service to its clients.

Obviously it is still more profitable for these clowns to spend $1M a day than to see their golden goose slaughtered. Why, even if they spent $365 million for a year of lobbying, they can just raise your co-pay and prescription costs to cover their expense.

Meanwhile, YOUR wife, husband, child, relative, friend falls ill or perhaps dies today because, well, that's business.

Get angry, people. E-mail or write each of your local and state representatives.

[Dynamohum]

Go luck with that!! Going through the motions for what? NOTHING, that's what. It is, what has become a USELESS EXERCISE in FUTILITY. Congress is NOT listening. MONEY talks, all others walk!! It is already done. We the people, no matter how angry are no match for all that LOBBYIST MONEY!! Couple that with the fact that a major portion of lobbyists are former Congresspeople and staff, and there you go. An endless cycle of abuse and obstruction.

[lastams]

The one thing we can do is INSIST that a bill to create a genuine public option pass closure.
At least then each and every Senator will have to stand up and declare whom they support;
big money special interests or the American People.

[lobear00]

Americans need to stop voting the same "Criminals " back into office time and time again.

[frappe]

Let's just call a spade a spade. This is an outright attempt to buy votes. This has nothing to do with persuasion based upon a logical argument, which is an important aspect of the democratic process. This type of effort is nothing less than a brash and audacious example of what the special interest lobby has been doing for decades in Washington and that is, simply put, buying the votes of our representatives so that they end up representing the special interests and not representing who they were elected to represent -- their true constituents.

...AND WHY ISN'T THIS ILLEGAL???­...Oh, their lawyers will talk about "free speech" and attempt to color their argument with flowery constitutional prose, but the essential truth is that their clients, OUR congressional representatives, are being BRIBED to obtain the votes that they want. It's a payoff scheme, pure and simple. And that is the truth - the whole truth - and nothing but the truth, so help me, God.

[MaxBob]

I can agree with two provisions I've read about, Co-Ops, and Individual Mandates( tax credits). Other than that, most of the key points are worthless and will only COST businesses, user's, and the government (which means US).

[Dan311]

Perhaps you have an easy time sentencing people to die. I however, do not.

I'm perfectly willing to pay higher taxes so that everyone is given the same fundamental right to healthcare.

To deny that is to effectively tell the Fire Department to stop putting out that burning building, and stop pulling those children out of those flames, because they didn't pay their Fire Department premiums this month.

[lastams]

Recently a Yahoo poll asked the question, "would you support a more expensive government run healthcare program".
No one is asking the question if we would support a more efficient cheaper single payer healthcare system.
Currently we pay twice what the rest of the civilized world pays for healthcare BECAUSE it
is a for profit system.
For profit, get it; Higher premiums, less service, more profit;

But this is the thing. We allow the insurance lobby, our Congress, and our media to
limit the boundaries of the debate.
Without a President willing to call foul and stick his neck out for the benefit of the American people, real healthcare reform in this country is dead on arrival.

[WoodyCPM]

Co-ops have been tried and found not to work. Mandates are a hand-off to the private insurance industry. Do you have any idea how much the current system is costing business? Businesses are going out of business because of it. Nearly half of all personal bankruptcies in this country are because of health care costs. The citizenry of any nation in the world that has universal, single payer health care delivery, those people...n­ot a single nation is clamoring for the American way. They look at us and shake their heads. We're all such a bunch of chumps. If you think the current system is somehow just fine, I hope that someday you leave the country, for good.

[ccoop]

It's a foregone conclusion that the single-payer public option is a moot issue once insurance company lobbyists start dumping money on Congress.

Our Congress people have a singular concern at heart - get reelected.

After that, their main concern is to "get mine." This means landing a corporate job with much benefit and little responsibi­lity...or.­..landing a gig as a lobbyist for whatever industry patronized them during their tenure in Congress.

Finally...­somewhere in deep shadows of their hearts dwells the concern for the average Joe.

At any rate, once the cash bribes start flowing on Capital Hill, the fat lady might as well start performing.

[MaxBob]

Hopefully, this will fa il as miserably as Cap and Tax. Next up, Immigration Reform.

[Dynamohum]

This situation does not inspire much confidence that we will get a "FAIR" health plan. With all these former Capitol Hill Congresspersons and staffers storming the hill with their Lobbyist Millions to stuff into the pocket of the Current Congress does not bode well for our PUBLIC PLAN!!! This is absolutely ridiculous. How do we the people stand against all of this? Rivers of money flowing from former Congresspersons to current to buy the vote in the favor of healthcare giants instead of we the people, leaves us at the bottom of the influence and consideration pile. This is ABSURD.

I am not encouraged by any of this. It would appear that no matter how much they tell us they are fighting for us and the publc plan, I cannot help but feel it was decided before we ever let our position as Americans be STRONGLY know on Capitol Hill. I am getting to the point of "WHY BOTHER? IT DOESN"T DO ANYTHING BUT GET ME UPSET, and NOTHING CHANGES.

[lpbj]

We stand up against this with our votes. Remember re-election time is coming.

[Dynamohum]

I've been doing the re-election thing for 28 years now! It hasn't changed a thing for the better. NOT ONE TH ING.

[MaxBob]

Unless the N U K E option is used, this will NOT pass. And to use the N u K e option, DEMS will have to make this about deficit reduction. HEH. Good Luck.

[MaxBob]

It's good to see PresBO has cracked down on these political leeches. HEH. HOPENCHANGE! Ahoy!

[Pyfagorus]

Lobbying reform needs to come from within Congress, which is in a separate branch of government from PresBO. Didn't you ever watch Schoolhouse Rock?

[MaxBob]

Has he made it an important issue with the Bully Pulpit he occupies???? You know, like during the campaign to change Washington as we know it schtick...­.....

[BritishColumbian]

And that would be loke putting the fox in charge of restructuring the hen house!!

[lcdbsez]

The weepublican Party is the political arm of the Big Biz Mafia in this country.

This lobbying effort is proof of that.

How obscene.

We're the dumbest suckers on the planet to subsidize the mafia extortion scheme that passes for healthcare(ha!) in this country.

Next, they'll be whining about alllll the jobs lost (in the private sector) if the public option is introduced . . . yeah, all those minimum-wage paper-pushing jobs . . . that will be outsourced to India, once this is all over with . . . no, we sure don't want those jobs going to American citizens, especially if they're going to be government workers . . . in a government­-administe­red plan . . .

That money is for corporate welfare, stupid!

[Soulsurfer]

Why not call it what it is? Bribery and extortion.

[lastams]

Actually it used to be called that.
Only ten or fifteen years ago when a Congressman took money to influence legislation, that was known as a bribe.
When a Congressman went to work for the same people who "donated" to his campaigns, that was known as corruption.
What has happened is not only has Congress become more corrupt, but they, meaning our elected "representatives" together with an enabling media, have redefined the term.
It's time to give these people a new dictionary and remind them who they work for.

[Raina Petkoff]

Well that story alone should be enough to put single-payer back on the table! We know it won't but seriously, if the insurance agency has that kind of money to burn - they are obviously making a ton risking the health of the American citizens. What the democrats should be doing is exploiting this information every chance they get. They should have soundbites that they repeat ad nauseum on every tv show they appear on. The push for a really robust public option should begin with . . . what is it about competition the insurance companies are so afraid of that they are spending $$$$$ just to stop it. Why are they afraid to let people choose an option that will provide them with access to their doctors at a price they can afford? What's wrong with Choice?

[Kassandra]

This is chump change for them compared to what they will reap when congress decides to hand US over to them, and thy know it. Just look at the return the banks got on their 100 million for Obama's campaign..­.12 generations of debt for the American people

[TrooAmerican]

How much did they get for their 240 million to McCain and congressional republicans?

[cosmicmom]

NO MORE LOBBYISTS!!! How can we change such entrenched, greedy, amoral Washington abuse of we, the people?

[quindy]

We can write letters and e-mails.

[lobear00]

Give congress a whole new makeover! Vote those who support the corporations out of office.

[NYC123]

What happen to change? Why are lobbyst still having so much influence in Washington? Democrats on the take from lobbysts should be made known. All of them that simple! Including Republicans as well! Americans are exhausted with the lobbyist influence! And one way or another, "they must be cut off!" The poeple voted for change, give it to us!

[lpbj]

Agreed.