NRSC

Lincoln Explanation For Flip-Flop On Medicare Cuts Defies Credulity

On Thursday, U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) joined with Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in voting against an amendment by U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to restore the full $450 billion in Medicare cuts contained in the Obama-Reid health care bill, which included $42 billion in cuts for home health programs.

Following this vote, Lincoln issued a press release stating that the purpose of the Republican Medicare amendments “is not to protect Medicare but to frighten our nation’s seniors so that they too will oppose health care reform.” She went even further and said Republican efforts to restore Medicare cuts “wrongly insinuated that the bill’s proposed savings in the Medicare programs would reduce seniors’ traditional Medicare benefits.”

In other words, Lincoln very clearly implied that no such cuts exist in the Obama-Reid health care bill and it would have no impact on Medicare benefits for Arkansas seniors.

However, a vote on the Senate floor Saturday brought an interesting twist and it raises serious questions about Lincoln’s credibility and honesty on the health care issue.

Yesterday at 3:21 PM, Lincoln initially voted again with Senate Democrats to block an amendment by U.S. Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) aimed at restoring $42 billion in funding cuts for seniors’ Medicare home health programs that are contained in the Obama-Reid government-run health care bill.

But just two minutes later, at 3:23 PM, Lincoln returned to the floor and switched her vote from “no” to “yes.” Notably, this happened after the Democrats had secured enough votes to defeat the GOP amendment without her support.

To Watch The Vote, Visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxCRQdxwPko

However, as reported by the Associated Press, “Lincoln, who faces a difficult re-election next year, says she made the change after considering how important home health care is to Arkansas.” In other words, in the span of less than 120 seconds, Lincoln managed to reconsider the impact $42 billion in proposed Medicare cuts would have on home health care providers in Arkansas, and that’s the reason she reversed her position.

But on Thursday, Lincoln said that Republican efforts to restore Medicare cuts “wrongly insinuated that the bill’s proposed savings in the Medicare programs would reduce seniors’ traditional Medicare benefits.”

“Senator Lincoln needs to come clean with Arkansans. Lincoln’s explanation for her flip-flop yesterday defies credulity and it’s an insult to the thousands of Arkansas seniors who will see their Medicare benefits cut under the Obama-Reid government-run bill,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson Marchand. “There’s no doubt that this vote will be a critical issue for Senator Lincoln as she embarks on her uphill re-election bid, and the people of Arkansas will hold her accountable when they cast their ballots next November.”