Demonstrating do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do is still alive and well in Washington, two Republican lawmakers have publicly bashed programs that they regard differently when it comes to their own benefit.

 

In the Senate, John Ensign of Nevada voted against the health care overhaul and he has been part of a GOP chorus calling for the end of earmarks, those special budget items used by Congress to help finance projects back home. But Ensign was happy to capture a $960,000 earmark for the University of Nevada to fund a primary care residency expansion program.

 

In the House, newly-elected Andy Harris of Maryland wasted no time after showing up on Capitol Hill to get his government-subsidized health care plan going. This is the same conservative Republican who railed against the federal health care reform law passed by Democrats.

 

Furthermore, Harris was beside himself when he learned his health coverage wouldn’t take effect until a month after he’s sworn into office on January 3. He howled over his gap in coverage, lamenting: “This is the only employer I’ve ever worked for where you don’t get coverage the first day you are employed,” his spokeswoman Anna Nix told Politico.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Revealed: GOP Senator Who Railed Against Healthcare and Earmarks Got $960,000 Healthcare Earmark (by John Byrne, Raw Story)

GOP Frosh: Where's My Health Care? (by Glen Thrush, Politico)