Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Malfeasance R Us.

Not only is there a plethora of doublespeak in this administration, but apparently, an abundance of double-counting things that weren’t really there in the first place:

During a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) admitted to double-counting in the Obamacare budget.

In her first appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee since the health-care law passed, Kathleen Sebelius responded to a line of questioning by Republican Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois about whether $500 billion in Medicare cuts were used to sustain the program or pay for the law.

“There is an issue here on the budget because your own actuary has said you can’t double-count,” said Shimkus. “You can’t count — they’re attacking Medicare on the CR when their bill, your law, cut $500 billion from Medicare.”

He continued: “Then you’re also using the same $500 billion to what? Say your funding health care. Your own actuary says you can’t do both. […] What’s the $500 billion in cuts for? Preserving Medicare or funding the health-care law?

Sebelius’ reply? “Both.”

Why am I not surprised? That’s the whole thing about this bunch. NOTHING surprises me anymore. NOTHING. There could be a story tomorrow about monkeys flying out of the White House, with Michelle on the back balcony, screaming, “Fly, Fly!” …and it wouldn’t surprise me.

The depth and breadth of incompetence, not to mention the outright deliberate malfeasance of this administration, were it not for real, would be laughable.