From politico.com comes Sen. Richard Burr’s reaction to the deal Sen. Ben Nelson secured in exchange for his health care vote — #60 of 60 needed by the Democrat controlled Senate. What did Nelson get?
He won an agreement that the federal government will forever pick up Nebraska’s share of a proposed Medicaid expansion, a deal worth about $100 million in the first decade, according to a Senate aide. He carved Nebraska’s non-profit insurers out of a proposed industry tax.
Here’s Sen. Richard Burr’s reaction, also from politico.com (emphasis is mine):
Nelson – like Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who picked up a $300 million Medicaid fix to ease her into supporting the bill last month– made no excuses Saturday for what Republicans blasted as a sweetheart deal.
“I always put Nebraska first,” he told POLITICO in an interview after his announcement. “But I looked at this through the standpoint of Nebraskans and the country.”
Asked how much he got, Nelson said, “Most. Enough. I didn’t get exactly every penny I was after.”
“There is a difference between holding out for something and holding up,” he added. “I was holding out for something to make it better.”
But some Republicans suggested that Nelson held out on abortion to advance the deal for his home state on Medicaid. “You gotta compliment Ben Nelson for playing, ‘The Price is Right.’ He negotiated a Medicaid agreement for Nebraska that puts the federal government on the hook forever,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
