Henry Waxman: “What Louisiana is getting is a very sweet deal. It is a special treatment. It is pork barrel money. They are getting…”

“What Louisiana is getting is a very sweet deal. It is a special treatment. It is pork barrel money. They are getting Federal dollars without doing what they are required under Federal law to put up for their own citizens who receive Medicaid benefits. The reason they are in this fix has nothing to do with the Federal Government. It has to do with the abuse by the State of Louisiana in the 1980's when they leveraged Federal dollars into the Medicaid Program and then did not even use it for health care. They used it for roads and they used it for prisons. They used it to balance their budget and they became addicted to that money. Now, because they have one of their own in a very powerful position, they are being singled out; they and New Hampshire, to get Federal dollars to help them meet their fiscal requirements. The Federal Government should not be standing in the place of those State governments to take on their responsibilities.”