Republicans pretend to be "compassionate," knowing the original liberal democratic nature of the culture will not allow them to be elected otherwise.
Senator Plans to Introduce Drug-Importation Measure
Recognizing voter concern about the high cost of medicines, a key Senate committee chairman said yesterday he plans to announce legislation this week that would allow the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada and other countries.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, said his legislation would allow importation from Canada first, and later add other industrialized countries. He declined to give details, or to give a timetable for committee action.
With the costs of U.S. drugs rising sharply, whether to allow drug imports has become a big election-year issue. Drugs in Canada, similar or even identical to U.S. medications, are sold for a fraction of the U.S. cost.
Of course Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, would decline to give details, or to give a timetable for committee action. That's because the action scheduled is to drop it like a hot rock after November.
The Reverse Robin Hood
Shedding its "compassionate conservative" veneer, the White House today acknowledged for the first time that it plans massive cuts to domestic programs in 2006, even as it pushes $1 trillion in new tax cuts. Two weeks after President Bush touted his commitment to education funding, the White House leaked plans to slash $1.5 billion out of the Department of Education – virtually eliminating previous small increases. It would also slash $177 million out of Head Start, the early-childhood education program for the poor. Less than a month after the president bragged about his commitment to funding veterans' health care, the White House is ordering a $910 million cut to the existing veterans' health care budget – a budget the Veterans of Foreign Wars has previously deemed "disgraceful" and "deplorable." The $78 million funding increase that Bush pledged for a homeownership program in 2005 "would be nearly reversed in 2006 with a $53 million cut."
