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Posted on Wed, Apr. 22, 2009

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Panel approves Sebelius; full Senate votes next

BY NOAM N. LEVEY

McClatchy-Tribune

WASHINGTON - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius won the endorsement of a divided Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, likely clearing the way for her confirmation as secretary of Health and Human Services in the next few days.

But eight of the 10 Republicans on the panel voted against her, underscoring the increasingly partisan nature of the emerging health-care debate on Capitol Hill.

Among the dissenters Tuesday was Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee's senior GOP lawmaker and a leading health-care authority. Some Democrats had hoped he would support health reform legislation later this year.

A spokeswoman for Grassley said he was concerned about "a lack of candor" by Sebelius over political contributions from George Tiller, a Wichita doctor who performs late-term abortions.

In a written response to questions submitted by senators after her confirmation hearing, Sebelius said that she received $12,450 from Tiller.

She subsequently changed the amount to add another $23,000 in donations from Tiller or his clinic to a PAC she once formed.

Grassley "voted against the nomination not over a question of competence or ability to do the job, but because of a lack of candidness... which seemed to be pretty elementary," said his spokeswoman, Jill Kozeny.

The abortion issue also continues to dog Sebelius back in Kansas. She is still reviewing a bill that anti-abortion legislators and groups describe as an attempt to strengthen enforcement of the state's existing restrictions on late-term abortions.

The bill increases reporting requirements for doctors who perform late-term procedures. It also allows patients and family members to sue doctors if they come to believe a late-term abortion was illegal.

Sebelius must take action by Thursday.

Tuesday's vote in Washington also revealed GOP lawmakers' increasing resistance to the president's health agenda. And they are frustrated by Democratic talk of limiting Republicans' ability to filibuster health-care legislation.

Republicans also have complained about Sebelius' support for a new government insurance program to help cover millions of Americans who lack insurance.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, accused Sebelius of supporting federal research into the comparative effectiveness of drugs and medical procedures, which critics say could open the door to the government denying coverage for more expensive care.

"The administration is unwilling to support pro-patient safeguards," Kyl charged.

In written responses to questions from Kyl, Sebelius said the research was not intended to limit coverage.

"Comparative effectiveness is about gathering and sharing information on what's most effective; it has nothing to do with government dictating choices or rationing care," she wrote.

The final committee vote was 15-8, with Republicans Olympia Snowe of Maine and Pat Roberts of Kansas joining the committee's 13 Democrats.

Sebelius, the last of Obama's Cabinet nominees awaiting confirmation, has received strong endorsements from Democrats, who praise her record of pushing health reform as governor and insurance commissioner of Kansas.

As head of the Health and Human Services Department, Sebelius would oversee the federal government's largest domestic department, a 65,000-employee behemoth that runs the severely strained Medicare and Medicaid programs and a host of other agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration.

Contributing: Associated Press