government
Louisiana physician to chair House oversight panel
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 17, 2011
Rep. Charles Boustany, MD (R, La.), on Jan. 7 was named chair of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee. Dr. Boustany, first elected to Congress in November 2008, had been the highest-ranking Republican on the subcommittee during the previous Congress.
The Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over federal taxes, Medicare, Social Security, welfare and other issues. Dr. Boustany, like many of his GOP colleagues, promised to increase oversight of the national health system reform law. "I plan to hold [Internal Revenue Service] officials accountable to the taxpayers and press them on how this law will be implemented," he said.
Dr. Boustany said he plans to work with the Government Accountability Office to identify programs that could be improved to save taxpayer dollars.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/01/17/gvbf0117.htm.
