Sullivan calls for dismissal

Federal officials who misled Congress or pressured others to do so about the cost of the Medicare drug benefit should be fired, U.S. Rep. John Sullivan said. <br><br>Health and Human Services Secretary

Sunday, March 21st 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Federal officials who misled Congress or pressured others to do so about the cost of the Medicare drug benefit should be fired, U.S. Rep. John Sullivan said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has called for an investigation into concerns that Medicare analyst Richard Foster believed Tom Scully, the former head of the Medicare agency, would have fired him if he shared his cost projections of the Medicare bill with members of Congress.

Sullivan and other lawmakers think they may have been deceived about the actual cost of the Medicare bill, which passed in 2003.

The White House has said the original 10-year, $400 billion price tag for the Medicare bill was short by about $134 billion, causing a number of Republicans to question their support of the bill.

``First you want to get all the facts out. I want to see them,'' Sullivan said. ``I based my decisions on the Medicare bill, which I think is a good bill, on figures that were presented to me. So did many other people.

Sullivan said if the investigation shows wrongdoing it should lead to termination.

``I think they should be punished for that. I think it's wrong,'' the Tulsa Republican said. ``That person should be dismissed.''

Democratic Rep. Brad Carson also supported the call for a formal investigation.

``I think it is the right thing to do,'' Carson said. ``Sadly it reinforces the cynical view that people have about this process. Too often Democratic and Republican administrations have played fast and loose with the truth in order to push policy initiatives.''

Sullivan said he supports the drug benefit plan, but conceded the higher estimates might have changed his vote. Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Ernest Istook have said they would have voted against the bill, too.

Meanwhile, Sen. Don Nickles, R-Ponca City, has been quiet about the growing controversy, even though he predicted that the bill's costs would be proven woefully inadequate.

The senator is the only Oklahoma congressional delegate who has not commented on the matter and the only one who voted against the bill, the Tulsa World's Washington bureau reported.

Sullivan, who recently hosted a workshop in Tulsa to inform seniors of the drug benefit package, expressed concern that the program is overshadowed by the controversy.

``There are a lot of people who don't like it,'' he said. ``I definitely think all of these things are distracting from the ... dissemination of information.''

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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com