Sen. Baucus has come to know Libby well
By now, Sen. Max Baucus has almost certainly memorized the route from the Libby cemetery to the Center for Asbestos Related Disease Clinic. Those two spots, for obvious reasons, have been mainstays on the Baucus Tour de Libby for more than a decade.
When Montana’s senior senator retraces that path on Wednesday, he will have the top official in charge of Medicare by his side.
Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will join a long list of federal officials who have accompanied Baucus on a solemn tour of the asbestos landmarks in Libby. Notable past visitors include Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson.
This will be, at best guess, Baucus’ 24th visit to Libby since our asbestos problem made national news for the first time in 1999. He came here in the early days to talk directly with the W.R. Grace whistleblowers. He’s been here on multiple occasions to announce new healthcare funding for asbestos victims. And he’s stopped by a couple of times to kick the EPA in the pants for failing to do its job properly.
Now Baucus is coming here because he wants to make sure someone in a position of power remembers the faces of those who have suffered hardship as a result of asbestos contamination. When Baucus steps away from the Senate at the end of 2014, Libby will lose its most influential advocate on the national stage.
Like him or not, Baucus has worked harder than one might expect for a community that contains a relatively inconsequential number of votes. You might not like his methods. You might not like his political beliefs. But it’s difficult to make a case that Baucus’ efforts to help Libby are anything but genuine.
Baucus has used his influence as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to direct federal money to Libby for everything from lung screenings to economic development. And he has worked behind the scenes countless times to make sure various government agencies that have set up shop in Libby listen to the concerns of people who otherwise would be easy to ignore.
When people like Sebelius said they want to do what’s right for the people of Libby, they might have been telling the truth. But the only reason those people came to Libby, in the first place, is that Baucus brought them here. When someone who has served in the Senate for nearly 35 years asks a federal department head to take a little trip, the answer is almost always “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. When do we leave, sir?”
If you spend any amount of time talking with the people in Baucus’ office, it’s pretty clear that the senator knows he has some unfinished business in Libby. Technically, he’s got about 16 months to do another 16 years worth of work, although that’s my estimate on the remaining workload, not Baucus’.
Before he steps down, Baucus wants to get a few more things in order. This week’s visit might be a chance to clear up some rulemaking discrepancies within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid that have kept asbestos victims who have moved out of Lincoln County from receiving the same level of healthcare benefits as those who still live here. Right now, if you developed a lung disorder from asbestos in Libby and you live in Missoula, you wouldn’t qualify for the same healthcare benefits as someone who lives in, say, Eureka.
Tavenner has the authority to extend special provisions of Medicare to asbestos victims living outside of the county, essentially giving them the same benefits for home healthcare services, medical equipment, medical travel, smoking cessation programs, nutritional supplements and medications that asbestos victims in Lincoln County receive. And Baucus has been pushing her to make the change.
It remains to be seen if Tavenner will allow herself to be influenced to spend more money during a budget crunch by a senator who has already announced his retirement. Maybe Baucus is right, and seeing the faces of the people who need additional assistance from the government will make a difference.The only sure thing at this point is that it will be much easier for federal agencies to ignore the people of Libby when Baucus is gone. Likewise, there will be far fewer dignitaries rolling into Libby at dawn to stand with a senator amid the gravestones of about 400 people who died too early.
(Matt Bunk is publisher of The Western News.)