Harry Reid's sneaky attempt to change senate rules uncovered

Harry Reid. AP file Photo/ Haraz N. Ghanbari

Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) uncovered language in Harry Reid’s health-care legislation that would place restrictions on how future congresses’ must act.
(See DeMint challenge Democrats on rules change, here.)

The Weekly Standard reported: “the Reid bill declares on page 1020 that the Independent Medicare Advisory Board cannot be repealed by future Congresses”

Only a few months ago the IMAB made a controversial recommendation; they stated women should wait until age 50 to have a mammogram. This ridiculous announcement led Americans to become outraged and suspicious; causing HHS, Kathleen Sibelius and other Democrats to scramble and publically denounce the board’s findings. This is the board that will over-see health-care? Why is Reid attempting to draft legislation that will protect the IMAB from appeal or amendment? (Perhaps death panels and rationed care are not as fictional as the Democrats claim.)

Reid’s secretive attempt to make it impossible to repeal or amend the IMAB is very telling. It shows that Reid himself has no faith in his legislation. If this bill truly is the best thing for Americans, as claimed, it should not require changes in the senate rules to ensure it survives; quite the opposite would be true.