GOP Lawmakers Demand Information From Groups Getting Navigator Grants

August 30, 2013
Unit:  Study of American Gov & Constitution
Jason Cannon

Synopsis:

The House Energy and Commerce committee had 15 Republican members that sent a letter to those who got  federal Navigator grants.  These Navigator grants were given to help notify and inform those without insurance about the new Health Insurance Marketplace online (available for use on Oct 2).  They were also intended to be used  to help people understand some of the different options there were for healthcare.  The purpose of the letter that was sent by the 15 committee members was to get feedback on what the groups were going to do with the money.  There were many critics of this letter, saying that it was "intimidating",  "shameful", and "an abuse of . . . authority".

Detailed analysis:

Specifically the letter stated that the recipients needed to schedule a meeting and write down information about the work they were going to do and about the workers/volunteers.  One critic said the letter was "an obvious attempt at intimidation of navigator programs, most of which are nonprofits that don't have the resources to hire lawyers to fight this, nor the time to respond at this very busy time. ... This attempt to bully these programs is shameful."  I agree that these requests might be tough on these organizations and might be done in an attempt to slow them down and hurt healthcare, but I think they are also very important.  After giving these organizations thousands or even millions of dollars, the government should be able to know what they plan to do with that money.  This will help prevent worthless spending and will keep these organizations in check.  I think that this is a good example of the checks a balances system.  Certain government leaders get the funding to the organizations and others check it.  Whether this is by selfish reasons or not, it helps balance the powers.

Because of the intimidating/hindering effects of the letter as well as beneficial effects, I think that a happy medium could be reached.  This could be done by making the requirements less intense or by lengthening the time period set forth (I am not exactly sure what it is).  I think it would be good to get a basic report on each groups game plan of how to use the money and then follow up with them to see how it is going

Henry Waxman, a Democrat on the Energy and Commerce committee, said that their letter was "an abuse of your oversight authority to launch groundless investigations into civic organizations that are trying to make health reform a success."  First of all I don't think that their investigations are groundless.  Their investigations are valuable.  He acknowledges that they have authority, but are abusing it.  Although their intentions may not all be completely pure, I don't think they are completely abusing their authority (their right to exercise power).

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/08/gop-lawmakers-demand-information-from-groups-getting-navigator-grants.html