Leavitt to Lead HHS, Could Cut Programs

[L.A.dweller]

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Michael Leavitt, President Bush (news - web sites)'s choice to be secretary of Health and Human Services (news - web sites), may have to cut billions of dollars from the government's mammoth health programs for the elderly, poor and disabled to pare the budget deficit.

The Medicare and Medicaid programs, consuming nearly $500 billion a year and growing quickly, could be vulnerable in the context of last year's $413 billion budget deficit, the ongoing war in Iraq (news - web sites), costly domestic security commitments and administration plans to revamp Social Security (news - web sites) without raising taxes.

Bush selected Leavitt, the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) chief, on Monday, filling one of the last two openings in his second-term Cabinet. Bush praised Leavitt as a "fine executive" and "a man of great compassion ... an ideal choice to lead one of the largest departments of the United States government."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041214/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_cabinet

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Too bad for the elderly, the poor and the disabled.

But we have to keep our priorities straight. After all, actually raising taxes on people who don't need government health programs might cause some of them to have to postpone purchasing a new Hummer. And wouldn't that be a shame?