NASHVILLE - Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey formally asked Tennessee's attorney general on Tuesday to investigate the legality of a deal hammered out by U.S. Senate Democrats in order to pass health care reform legislation.
The request by the lieutenant governor, a 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate, comes after Attorney General Cooper last week rejected previous public calls for an opinion on the measure's constitutionality.
Mr. Cooper, a Democrat, said it was "premature" to issue a legal opinion until the U.S. House and Senate agree on a final version of the legislation.
At issue is an agreement U.S. Senate Democratic leaders reached with Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., over provisions requiring states substantially expand their Medicaid programs to cover more people. Sen. Nelson wound up voting for the bill, according to news accounts, in exchange for a provision whereby the federal government would pay to expand Nebraska's Medicaid program.
In his formal request to Attorney General Cooper, the lieutenant governor asked, "Does any provision within the United States Constitution or other federal law provide a legal basis by which the State of Tennessee and other states could seek judicial intervention to block implementation of H.R. 3590 or, alternatively, to ensure that the 'Nebraska Deal' is extended to the other states?"
Lt. Ramsey also invoked the name of Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, who has attracted national attention for his repeated attacks on using Medicaid to extend national coverage. Gov. Bredesen contends such an action would cost Tennessee from $750 million to $1.4 billion from 2014 to 2019, depending on whether the U.S. Senate or U.S. House version becomes law.
In his letter to Mr. Cooper, a former legal counsel to Gov. Bredesen, Lt. Gov. Ramsey noted he had read of Mr. Cooper's wish "to defer the issue until legislation is finalized but the General Assembly must be proactive in dealing with what Governor Bredesen has called 'the mother of all unfunded mandates.'"
He goes on to state, "I join Governor Bredesen in his outrage at the $1.2 billion price tag of this legislation in a year when we are preparing to cut up to $1.5 billion from the state budget."
In a statement issued late Tuesday afternoon, Attorney General Cooper said, "I appreciate hearing from Lt. Governor Ramsey about his concerns regarding the health care debate in Washington and its possible impact on Tennessee.
"However," Mr. Cooper added, "given the fact that both versions of the health care legislation under consideration would delay any required expansion of Tennessee's Medicaid program for several years, it seems premature at this point to pursue possible legal issues that could soon become moot in the bill's final version."
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Gov. Bredesen said he was "upset and distraught" as well as "moderately outraged" by the special treatment for Nebraska and Louisiana, which also would receive preferential treatment. But he said he wanted to see what ultimately passes, was not yet ready to join any lawsuit against the bill and would look to Attorney General Cooper for advice.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Bredesen noted in a statement that "I've said publicly that some of the things that have happened with the bill are outrageous, but nothing is final yet, so I agree that there is nothing to act on at this time."
He said "if a provision such as this were to make it into the final version of the bill, then that's the time to decide whether a legal remedy is needed."
Thirteen Republican state attorneys general have threatened to sue over the U.S. Senate bill, among them South Carolina Attorney Henry McMaster, a gubernatorial candidate. In Georgia, Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue has urged Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, a Democrat, to investigate deals struck in the U.S. Senate bill.
State Sen. Dewayne Bunch, R-Cleveland, an attorney, said the Nelson deal "raises a multitude of constitutional issues. Can you allow the citizens of one state not to participate in a taxing scheme?"
He said he agrees with Mr. Cooper "that it's a little early jump in and be first, but at the same time, it's never too early to be preparing and researching. I think that's what we need to be doing."
Also on Tuesday, 3rd Congressional District hopeful Robin Smith of Hixson urged Mr. Cooper's office to review the legislation, calling it "patently unfair to ask Tennesseans to bear the cost for Nebraska simply because one senator held out to be the 60th vote for passage. I believe this political payoff for Senator Ben Nelson ... is unfair to our citizens and will eventually be found unconstitutional."