Price tries to reassure; Dems not buying it
WASHINGTON — Offering reassurances, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary said Wednesday the new administration won’t “pull the rug out” from those covered by “Obamacare.” Democrats were unimpressed, noting a lack of specifics.
Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., also told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that Trump is “absolutely not” planning to launch an overhaul of Medicare as he tries to revamp coverage under President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. He acknowledged that high prescription drug costs are a problem, but did not endorse the idea of government directly negotiating prices.
Throughout the nearly four-hour hearing, Democrats peppered Price with questions about his stock trades. The sometimes confusing exchanges involved different transactions under distinct circumstances. Price, who has signed a government ethics agreement to sell his stock, was clearly annoyed by the suggestion that he profited from his official position. “I’m offended by that insinuation,” he told Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., lauded Price’s performance, but ranking Democrat Patty Murray of Washington said she remains deeply concerned. No Democrats offered support for the 62-year-old nominee, an orthopedic surgeon-turned-legislator.
Price said he wants to reopen a bipartisan dialogue on health care centered on practical solutions.
“One of my goals in this entire debate is to lower the temperature,” said Price, speaking in even, measured tones. “People need to know that no rug is going to be pulled out from under them.”
Alexander said he took that to mean that the Trump administration will be careful, and not attempt to repeal the 2010 health care law without a replacement ready to go. The Affordable Care Act is providing coverage to about 20 million people, and government as well as private experts say repealing without a concrete substitute would make millions uninsured and spike premiums.
But Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Hillary Clinton’s running mate, said, “I don’t think ‘lowering the temperature’ is consistent with rushing” to repeal and replace. Trump has promised to unveil his plan when Price is confirmed.
With coverage for millions at stake, Price faced pointed questions about Trump’s evolving stance on health care. Trump campaigned on repealing Obama’s law, but at times he’s sounded more like a liberal. For example, he made recent comments about providing insurance for everyone and taking on the drug companies.
James Madison was about to be sworn in as our fourth president in 1809. He asked his friend, then-President Thomas Jefferson, to ride with him to the Capitol. Jefferson, who had led the country for eight years, said no. “Today I return to the people,” he replied.
On Friday, Barack Obama returns to the people. At noon, we will have a new president, Donald Trump. After he is sworn in, he will give a speech, watch a parade and, that night, attend several large parties.
This event, which happens every four years, is called Inauguration Day. The word inauguration (pronounced in-aw-gyu-RAY-shun) comes from Latin and means “to be installed under good omens or signs.”
Inaugurations mark the peaceful transfer of power in our government. Within a few hours, one family moves out of the White House and another moves in.
Here are some fun inauguration facts to amuse and amaze you. Credit goes to Paul F. Boller Jr. and his book “Presidential Inaugurations.”
A long time ago, inaugural events might be the first time people got to see the man they had elected. Spotting Zachary Taylor before his inauguration in 1849, one person noted, “He is not so ugly as I had expected.”
Andrew Jackson’s celebration in 1829 led to a near-riot in the White House. People in muddy boots stood on the chairs and sofas, there were fistfights over the food and drinks, and some drapes and dishes were destroyed. The new president escaped through a window and went back to his hotel. Abraham Lincoln had a similar experience in 1865, as guests helped themselves to silverware, glasses, candlesticks and pieces of the lace curtains.
Inaugural parades have had just about everything, including fancy floats and trained seals. Theodore Roosevelt’s 1905 parade had cowboys and Native Americans on horseback, led by the Apache chief Geronimo. Roosevelt was delighted, unlike Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was lassoed by a cowboy at his 1953 parade. Eisenhower grinned, but his son later said the stunt irritated him.