[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  RECESS APPOINTMENT OF DONALD BERWICK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, ordinarily Senators come to the floor 
to talk about the things that happen in Washington while we are here. 
Today I wish to talk about something that happened last week while we 
were not here. I am referring, of course, to the President's truly 
outrageous decision to take advantage of Congress's absence last week 
to sneak Donald Berwick in as the new head of Medicare and Medicaid.
  As is well known, Congress has a constitutional duty to examine 
Presidential nominees such as Dr. Berwick. But apparently the prospect 
of giving the American people an opportunity to hear this nominee 
defend his past praise for government-run systems that ration health 
care was worrisome enough for the administration that it sought to 
ignore congressional oversight altogether.
  As it turned out, the administration's plan backfired because even 
Democrats are outraged at this blatant attempt to prevent the American 
people from hearing this man talk about what he plans to do with 
Medicare and Medicaid. As usual, the administration wants to blame 
Republicans for its failures. But in this case, the administration's 
failure to respect the right of the American people to study Dr. 
Berwick's record is being criticized by just about everyone, including 
the Democratic chairman of the committee in charge of reviewing his 
nomination.
  Here is what Chairman Baucus said shortly after the appointment was 
made. Senator Baucus said:

       Senate confirmation of presidential appointees is an 
     essential process prescribed by the Constitution that serves 
     as a check on executive power and protects Montanans and all 
     Americans by ensuring that crucial questions are asked of the 
     nominee, and answered.

  So despite what the administration wants people to think, this recess 
appointment had nothing whatsoever to do with Republicans. The fact is, 
Republicans were looking forward to the debate. We welcomed the hearing 
on Dr. Berwick, and anyone who looks at the facts knows any suggestion 
to the contrary is utter nonsense. So the charge is laughable.
  This appointment had everything to do with the administration's fear 
of letting Americans hear Dr. Berwick's well-known views about 
government-run care and about how he plans to implement the President's 
plan to cut $\1/2\ trillion from Medicare while limiting the choices 
seniors now enjoy.
  Here is the irony in all of this: In an attempt to silence debate 
about Dr. Berwick and its own plans for health care, this nomination 
has only reignited the debate over the Democratic health care plan. By 
recess appointing a man who has sung the praises of the government-run 
British health care service, the administration is only inviting 
Americans to ask more questions about its own plans.
  I would have thought that anyone would be able to understand the 
significance of getting answers from an avowed admirer of rationed care 
before putting him in charge of implementing this administration's $500 
billion Medicare cut.
  But by denying the American people an opportunity to hear Dr. Berwick 
defend his past statements and his future plans, the administration is 
now forcing the Democrats who voted for the Democratic health care plan 
to defend Dr. Berwick and his views themselves. The administration may 
have shielded this nominee temporarily, but it has only exposed 
Democrats in Congress who voted for this bill and everything that 
follows from it--including this truly outrageous appointment.
  This appointment is the latest evidence of how little the 
administration has concerned itself with the views of the public. When 
a majority of Americans and an overwhelming majority of Kentuckians 
opposed its health care plan, they cut deals with Democratic Senators 
to squeeze it through Congress. Now they are not even bothering with 
Congress. They are unilaterally installing people such as Dr. Berwick 
to take charge of its plan for $\1/2\ trillion in Medicare cuts.
  This has been the administration's approach all along: Go around the 
American people, and now go around Congress. The administration can try 
to blame Republicans for a debate they do not want to have. But by 
denying Congress the ability to scrutinize this nominee, it only raises 
Americans' suspicions about its health care plan and increases the 
burden on Democrats who supported it.
  Back in March, Speaker Pelosi remarked that we would have to pass the 
health care bill to find out what is in it. This nomination is part of 
the same arrogant approach. The same administration that forced this 
bill on an unwilling public has now forced Don Berwick on to anyone 
with Medicare and Medicaid. Now Democrats who voted for this bill will 
have to answer for his statements and for his views.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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