Posted on 12/06/2009 3:14:16 PM PST by Son House
Look who's at the health care negotiating table -- Tom Daschle.
The former Senate Democratic leader's nomination as health and human services secretary was derailed over a back taxes flap earlier this year. But that's not stopping Daschle, a close ally of President Barack Obama, from playing a significant role in Capitol Hill health care talks -- much as he'd be doing if he'd actually gotten the job.
The outsized role is unusual for someone who's an adviser to lobbying firms, especially given Obama's campaign vow to change business as usual in Washington.
Daschle was in a strategy meeting earlier this week with top Senate and White House officials, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and the actual HHS secretary, Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius was Obama's second choice for the job after Daschle withdrew amid the tax controversy.
It was the second such high-level meeting Daschle attended in Reid's office in the past few weeks.
"He is an expert in health care," Reid said, explaining the arrangement. Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Daschle's role in working the Senate on the health care bill was Obama's idea, and that the president also dispatched two other former senators, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Vice President Joe Biden, to Capitol Hill.
The difference is that unlike the others, Daschle is no longer a government official, elected or appointed. He works for a prominent lobbying firm, DLA Piper, though he himself is not a registered lobbyist and has said he is more comfortable being described as a "resource" for former colleagues and others.
An aide at DLA Piper said that Daschle was not available for an interview. Daschle joined the firm, which represents several health care-related clients, including vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur, in mid-November. He previously worked at Alston & Bird, which represents numerous health care clients, including CVS Caremark Inc. and insurer Humana Inc.
Daschle's involvement in the health care talks might seem to present a conflict of interest problem for an administration that's vowed to keep lobbyists at arm's length.
White House spokesman Reid Cherlin declined to address that issue, saying only in a statement, "Tom Daschle is one of the country's foremost advocates for health reform, and his expertise in legislative strategy and long-standing friendships with senators from both parties put him in a unique position to help Senate leadership chart the course forward."
Daschle, who last year published a book on fixing the U.S. health care system, originally was tapped by Obama to head a new White House Office of Health Reform as well as serve as HHS secretary. The job was split up and given to two people, Sebelius as HHS secretary and Nancy-Ann DeParle as director of the health reform office, after Daschle withdrew from consideration while apologizing for failing to pay $140,000 in taxes and interest.
In addition to attending strategy sessions on Capitol Hill, Daschle is reaching out individually to former colleagues, many of whom remain friends after his long career in the Senate. He represented South Dakota from 1987-2005 before losing his seat to Republican John Thune.
"Sen. Daschle has enormous credibility and there are very few people who know the issue or the institution as well as he does," Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who's being courted by the White House as a possible Republican vote for the health care bill, said she'd spoken to Daschle recently. "Obviously they're recruiting everybody they can to be helpful and being conduits and voices for health care," said Snowe. Passage of the Senate's 10-year, nearly $1 trillion remake of the U.S. health care system is a top priority for Obama and Senate Democrats, who want all the help they can get.
Even so, not all of Daschle's former colleagues seemed clear on his involvement.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., a key architect of the legislation, was in the meeting with Daschle this week but said he had no idea who invited him or what his role was in working on the health care bill.
"Boy, I don't know," Baucus said.
"He is an expert in health care," Reid said
^^ Are you sure?
Will Tom get 100 million too?
The bad eggs never go away unless you crack them and then throw them away. Run the MARXISTS OUT OF TOWN!!
I knew a long time ago, somebody was goint to have to drive a stake through his heart to get rid of him.
Has anybody checked the WH visitor lists ? How many times has he been to see ‘da man’ since Jan. ?
His book is all about rationing to seniors and not developing new technology to save live. Just what they are doing.
The former Senate Democratic leader's nomination as health and human services secretary was derailed over a back taxes flap earlier this year. But that's not stopping Daschle, a close ally of President Barack Obama, from playing a significant role in Capitol Hill health care talks -- much as he'd be doing if he'd actually gotten the job.Thanks Son House.
Your right, what I did find in a quick search of that site;
2008 HEALTH POLICY SYMPOSIUM ADVISORY PANEL
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthpolicycenter/2008-advisory.html
Tom Daschle
Former Democratic Leader
United States Senate
^
Here’s the search return page;
Search Results 1 - 10 of 15 for Daschle in All
One more;
Mayo Clinic Trustees Honor New Named Professors
Friday, February 20, 2009
http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2009-jax/5190.html
Senator Thomas A. Daschle, George B. Bartley, M.D. and Franklyn Prendergast, M.D. were recognized for completion of their service as trustees.
One more, if you can handle the gut wrenching;
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthpolicycenter/sunday.html
Moving Toward Major Reform?
Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle ...
...He foresees new pressure, brought by the public or wrought by a crisis, will foster change in Congress. And, he insisted, the U.S. president must champion change.
^’
more, same link;
Debunking Myths, Changing Public Perception
Changing public perception — and bringing about health care reform — would require debunking two myths, Sen. Daschle explained:
>The first myth is that the U.S. health care system is the best in the world. While the U.S. spends far more per capita than any other country, outcomes, such as infant mortality and life expectance rates, are not the best.
>A second myth is that major health care reform would cost more money. “If we can’t solve the problem by spending less money on health care, than we haven’t solved the problem.”
Sen. Daschle foresees that major health care reform could be triggered by
a crisis from continued rising costs;
a pandemic outbreak of some disease; or
a crisis over government entitlements.
Some elementary school teacher needs to teach Tiny Tom the meaning of the term "circular logic".
Daschle’s book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis” is the playbook for the death panels of Obamacare.
These pathetic socialist demoRATs never seem to drop out of the limelight, even in the rare instances that the sheeple vote them out. Tom Daschle as a Mayo Clinic trustee is a perfect example. My wife works for the Mayo Clinic, and I had heart surgery & pacemaker surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Looks like I am going to have to start calling their PR office and berating them for putting dumb ass liberals like Daschle on their board. In the end, the top mgmt at Mayo Clinic are like any other libturd politically correct company...groveling like pathetic whores for 0bozo's attention & his bribes.
and crack their shells
Yep, Democrats are the fasted way to end any private sector business, and their President has that on the fast track
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