Posted on 03/23/2011 10:45:00 AM PDT by Libloather
Karl Rove group sues administration over health reform waivers
By Julian Pecquet - 03/23/11 10:27 AM ET
A conservative organization with ties to Karl Rove sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday to gain access to documents detailing how the department decides who can get waivers from the healthcare reform law.
Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (Crossroads GPS) says the suit was prompted by the department's failure to respond to a Jan. 7 request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
The organization is seeking "any and all memoranda, guidance, directives, instructions and other documents … relating to the criteria to be applied by HHS in deciding whether to grant or deny applications for [a] waiver."
"Until President Obama is willing to grant the entire country a waiver from ObamaCare," Crossroads GPS President Steven Law said in a statement, "his administration needs to come clean on how they decide who wins and loses in the waiver lottery."
HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The waivers have turned into a major political headache for the administration, even though they're only temporary exemptions from the law's $750,000 minimum annual cap on benefits for 2011.
The administration has released multiple guidance documents detailing the process and revealing who got the waivers, but Republicans have been eager to make political hay of the process; they argue the more than 1,000 waivers granted so far are being used to reward political allies or are proof the law is fatally flawed.
Two House committees have held hearings on the waivers. And on Tuesday, the House Small Business Committee joined the fray and demanded that the administration explain its process for granting waivers.
I would think Obamacare would be thrown out just for the waivers alone.
How true...
Rove’s group should’a also thrown in the birth certificate and college records!
I wonder if we could get enough people writing to their Senators, asking for the waivers criteria and application forms, that it would put pressure on. You know the Dept of HHS will not come forth with anything, and the DOJ will ignore it until it goes away.
If I don’t get a waiver, do I have a 14th Amendment Equal Protections case against the Administration?
Contradiction in terms.
Join an Amish church. Or, move to one of the four exempted states.
Depends on the issue I guess. I am glad somebody is fighting the political Obamacare waivers.
I would not trust Rove (nor most of the GOP front runners for 2012 for that matter) on amnesty, for example.
I am skeptical of anything related to GWB, but Rove (group) appears to waging full scale war on democrats . He created and ran some neat ads connecting Obama to union goons threatening to draw blood, and taking more of our tax money.
As long as he isnt near the WH I wouldn't worry too much about him. I have no heroes right now. Republicans in congress dont appear to be accomplishing anything.
Obama ignores all document requests.
Unfortunately, last November Rove fought harder against people who would have carried this fight to Chairman Zero with much greater zeal. At this point, one of the few things I have in common with the Elephant is that we both have very long memories.
Short of Michele Bachmann, who would be a heroINE, I tend to agree.
Good point. She is hot and a conservative fireball fighter.
I just went to Walmarts and picked up $40 of light bulbs, they are ~ 45 cents per bulb in packages of 4. That should keep me going till Michelle becomes president and legalizes light bulbs again:)
And that was not the first time Rove has been at war with conservatives.
But for the time being, let him attack Obama's political Obamacare waivers. The longer Obama is in office, the greater the chance of Obama appointing another leftist to the SCOTUS.
And why would Rove, the guy who seeks to make Romney of Romneycare the nominee, back this case? ????
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