+Health Care | 469 days ago

Don Berwick on Defense

By Kate Pickert

If Don Berwick’s first appearance before a hostile congressional committee is any indication, there is no way the Medicare/Medicaid chief will ever earn the support of enough Republicans to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Berwick, installed via recess appointment last July, gave testimony and took questions from members of the GOP-controlled House Ways & Means committee on Thursday. It was his second trip to the hill; a few months ago, he took questions from members of the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats are in the majority. Thursday’s hearing was contentious from the very first lines of inquiry from new Chairman Rep. Dave Camp. Is Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) – a single payer system with a reputation for rationing – a good model for the U.S.? Is Berwick still “in love” with the NHS, as he has said in the past? Is competition in health care a bad thing?

Berwick answered none of these questions directly. While he may be an innovative health care policy wonk, there was nothing innovative about his strategy for getting through Thursday’s hearing.

+Nancy Pelosi | 540 days ago

Rangel’s 5 Stages of Grief

By Jay Newton-Small

Photo thanks to C-SPAN Photo thanks to C-SPAN Charlie Rangel is grieving. He’s grieving for his long-lost Ways & Means gavel. He’s mourning his 40-year reputation as an upstanding public servant that now lies in shreds in the well of the House floor. Today, the 80-year-old Harlem Democrat was censured by the House by a [...]

+Republican Party | 605 days ago

Republicans Press for Rangel, Waters Trials Before November Elections

By Jay Newton-Small

House Republicans on the Committee on Standards and Official Conduct are demanding the panel move forward with open hearings on ethics charges against two Democratic lawmakers, Charlie Rangel of New York and California’s Maxine Waters. The panel’s five Republicans sent a letter to the committee’s chair, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, today. From the letter: [...]

+Republican Party | 651 days ago

Maxine’s Goes on the De(O)ffense

By Jay Newton-Small

Rep. Maxine Waters went on the offense with her defense against three ethics charges Friday morning with a 90-minute Capitol Hill press conference. Waters move to try her case in the court of public opinion comes three days after former Ways & Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel took to the floor in a defiant speech [...]

+Congress | 651 days ago

The Other Scandal Of The Charlie Rangel Scandal

By Michael Scherer

“A gaffe happens when someone slips up and tells the truth,” goes the old Washington saw. But there is a corollary: A scandal occurs when someone gets caught doing what everyone else is doing. Gambling in the casino!?! He had an affair?!? Ethics impropriety in the U.S. Congress!?! Clutch the pearls, call for an investigation, [...]

+Republican Party | 654 days ago

RE: Rangel’s Rant

By Jay Newton-Small

Thanks to TIME’s Katy Steinmetz, a rough transcript of Rep. Charlie Rangel’s speech on the floor today: The Speaker Pro Tempore: For what purpose does the gentleman from New York seek recognition? The house will be in order. Members will take their seats. The house will be in order. Members will please clear the aisles. [...]

+Republican Party | 654 days ago

Rangel’s Rant

By Jay Newton-Small

Video courtesy of C-SPAN In an unprecedented 31-minute speech on the House floor done against the advice of lawyers and friends, Rep. Charlie Rangel, attacked head on the allegations against him and the process under which he said he’s suffered unfairly. Rangel seemed to indicate that he’s fired his lawyers, telling them he can no [...]

+Democratic Party | 659 days ago

Ethical Dilemmas

By Jay Newton-Small

The idea of House ethics has evolved over time. For example, when Daniel Webster was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in the 1830’s, he was upfront about his second job working for the Bank of America. Few colleagues criticized him, or even took much notice, when he’d argue cases before the Supreme Court – [...]

+Republican Party | 666 days ago

House Ethics Subcommittee Unveils 13 Charges Against Rangel

By Jay Newton-Small

At a somber hearing of the House ethics committee – held in a larger room in the Congressional Visitors Center to accommodate the throng of press – the subcommittee in charge of investigating Charlie Rangel for the last 21 months referred 13 alleged violations of House rules against the former Ways & Means chairman to [...]

+Nancy Pelosi | 668 days ago

Charlie Rangel’s War

By Jay Newton-Small

Tomorrow former Ways & Means chairman Charlie Rangel is scheduled to be put on trial but the House ethics committee. The hearing could last months, going well into the fall as Rangel tries to prove his innocence, even through a subcommittee has already ruled he likely broke House rules. The AP and New York Post [...]