Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has no plans to join his Republican counterparts in other states who are threatening to file a lawsuit against President Barack Obama's health care initiative.
Bruning said a lawsuit aimed at the so-called “Cornhusker Kickback” in the U.S. Senate health care bill has little chance of succeeding, even though he hopes that provision and the bill are defeated.
“I'm not confident there is a compelling legal argument here. The cases I've read make it pretty clear Congress is able to do almost any darn fool thing they want to do,” he said.
Thirteen Republican attorneys general have threatened to challenge a controversial section of the Senate health care bill that exempts Nebraska from paying for a planned expansion of Medicaid.
The exemption was included in the bill during the final stages of the health care debate. Critics say it was placed there to win the support of Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
Nelson has denied that, saying it was inserted in the bill to save Nebraska - and eventually other states - from paying for an unfunded federal mandate.
Bruning is considered a potential contender for Nelson's Senate seat in 2012. He previously ran for the Senate but dropped out in 2007 after Republican Mike Johanns got into the race.
Bruning said that because he is considered a possible Senate candidate, his participation in any lawsuit by attorneys general would be seen as “hyper-political.''
He said he is focused on his job as the state's top prosecutor and running for re-election this year. But Bruning has not ruled out seeking another office, including either the Senate or the governor's office in 2014.
Nelson is up for re-election in 2012 but has not decided whether he will seek a third term.
The attorneys general wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., last month, threatening a court challenge unless the Nebraska provision is removed from the bill.
They argue that the special deal for Nebraska violates the U.S. Constitution and a requirement that federal spending promote the “general welfare.”
They said the expansion of Medicaid cannot be in the interest of “general welfare” if one state is exempted from paying the cost.
The health care proposal is now in a conference committee, as leaders in the House and Senate work to reconcile the bills passed in each chamber.
Nelson was the last Democratic holdout in the Senate on the controversial measure. His vote was critical in ending debate and bringing the issue to a vote.
Nelson has defended the Medicaid exemption, saying he didn't ask for special treatment for Nebraska. He has said he believes all states will eventually be given the same deal.
Bruning said he still hopes that Nelson will change his mind and vote against the bill.
While Bruning opposes the Nebraska exemption on Medicaid, he said he sees it as a “side show” in the larger health care debate.
“The larger issue is that this bill grows government to an unsustainable point,” he said.
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