So Much For An Obama Presidency Of Administrative Expertise

Yesterday it was reported that HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius, like so many of her fellow nominees, underpaid her federal income taxes.

If the Senate is concerned with its constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on nominees, this should be the least of her worries.

Erica Werner has reported on a remarkable exchange between Senator McCain and Sebelius at her confirmation hearing.

McCain tried to get Sebelius to agree with his contention that employer-based coverage is unfair because higher-paid employees get better coverage. She said she wasn't familiar enough with the systems to say.

Just to be clear, there are few public policy issues as well trod over the last 4 years as the incredibly regressive character of the tax treatment of health insurance. First, health insurance subsidies are geared toward those in high-paying jobs. And then, among those eligible for favorable tax treatment, the subsidy is greatest for those with the highest incomes. The existence of a thoughtful bipartisan consensus on the tax treatment of health care is similar to the empirically driven bipartisan agreement that emerged on welfare reform.

Yet Sebelius, who the President wants to steer health care reform, just isn’t that familiar with the issue?

Does she read?

So much for an Obama presidency of technocrats and administrative expertise.

If Senators – including the Democrats who support Senator Wyden’s legislation targeting the regressive tax treatment of health insurance – are serious about their responsibilities, they would focus their attention on Sebelius’ professed ignorance of this critical policy question rather than target her because of an amended tax return.