Tom Daschle, tapped to be President Obama's health czar, was paid more than $200,000 by the health-care industry in the past two years, according to documents obtained by Politico.

The former Senate majority leader, who gave speeches to firms and groups with a vested-interest in the administration's upcoming health reform, collected the checks as part of a $5 million windfall after he lost reelection to his South Dakota seat.

This weekend, Daschle's nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services became embroiled in controversy over the last-minute revelation that he had only recently paid long-overdue taxes.

Daschle made nearly $5.3 million in the last two years, records released Friday show, including $220,000 he received for giving speeches, many of them to outfits that stand to gain or lose millions of dollars from the work he would do once confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services.

For instance, the Health Industry Distributors Association plunked down $14,000 to land the former Senate Democratic leader in March 2008. The association, which represents medical products distributors, boasts on its website that Daschle met with it after he was nominated to discuss “the impact an Obama administration will have on the industry.”

This week, the group began openly lobbying him, sending him a letter urging him to rescind a rule requiring competitive bidding of Medicare contracts.

Another organization, America’s Health Insurance Plans, paid $20,000 for a Daschle speaking appearance in February 2007. It represents health insurance companies, which under Obama’s plan would be barred from denying coverage on the basis of health or age.

There was a $12,000 talk to GE Healthcare in August, a $20,000 lecture in January to Premier, Inc., a health care consulting firm, and a pair of $18,000 speeches this year to different hospital systems, among other paid appearances before health care groups.

The speaking fees were detailed in a financial disclosure statement released Friday, which showed that Daschle pulled down a total of more than $500,000 from the speaking circuit in the last two years, and $5.3 million in overall income.

He also became an adviser to the law and lobbying firm Alston & Bird, which paid him $2.1 million in wages last year and also provided him a 401k and profit sharing plan worth between $100,000 and $250,000, according to the report.

In his three years at the firm, it’s earned more than $16 million lobbying on behalf of some of the health care industry’s most powerful interests before the department he’s in line to lead. Though Daschle himself did not register to lobby for the firm, he has advised the firm’s clients on health care issues, according to the firm’s website.

His disclosure indicates he provided “policy advice” to such clients as United Health, AT&T and the politically connected consulting shop Glover Park Group.

After leaving the Senate, Daschle also landed a host of lucrative board spots, including with the energy giant BP Corporation, which paid him $250,000 in fees, developer CB Richard Ellis, which paid $121,000, and ethanol processor Mascoma Corporation, which paid him $75,000, according to the disclosure.

It shows that Daschle has hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks and options from CB Richard Ellis and Mascoma, though he indicated he forfeited his unvested stock options and wrote that “if confirmed, I will divest my vested stock options with CB Richard Ellis.”

He reported owning homes worth as much as $250,000 each in Aberdeen, S.D., and Altus, Okla., with his wife, a high-powered lobbyist for Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz.

Daschle wasn’t required to disclose her income, but did report that her retirement plans through the firm were worth more than $260,000.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18237_Page2.html
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It's no wonder Daschle lost his senate seat to a republican John Thune in South Dakota. With his choice of Daschle, Obama with all his new lobbying rules and campaign promises looks like an idiot. How many health care firms are in Daschle's pocket?

Where is all the outrage? Owing over 128,000 in back taxes and working so close with health care lobbyist. Heck, even his wife is a lobbyist. Nice choice President Obama - you knew the democrats would pretend all this was about nothing.................

I guess Obama finally wised up. Daschle withdrew. I expected those Obama supporters to jump on this one. Not even a single comment. Speaks volumes about the fairness of some that post on this site...........

Please notice the date of the original thread.

Oh please, we already commented on it in another topic. He's out, that doesn't mean Obama is at fault here, is he expected to know all the details of everyones life? There are people who do that and it's been done and the guy is out, as it should be.

The issue far above his tax problems was his ties to lobbyist. Obama supporters should have been all over this one - instead of being silent. Evidently Obama got the message. Some people on here seem to think it only works one way.

I can see that, and am glad he is OUT. With so many things being posted daily I am sure you must know we have lives outside the Internet and can't respond to everything, especially when threads are often duplicates. I don't know what you mean by works one way, but I can tell you that I am just as concerned about getting rid of trash in Washington as others are on both sides.

WASHINGTON – Tom Daschle withdrew Tuesday as President Barack Obama's nominee to be health and human services secretary, dealing potential blows to both speedy health care reform and Obama's hopes for a smooth start in the White House. "Now we must move forward," Obama said in a written statement accepting "with sadness and regret" Daschle's request to be removed from consideration. A day earlier, Obama had said he "absolutely" stood by Daschle in the face of problems over back taxes and potential conflicts of interest.

The stunning Daschle development came less than three hours after another Obama nominee also withdrew from consideration, and also over tax problems. Nancy Killefer, nominated by Obama to be the government's first chief performance officer, said she didn't want her bungling of payroll taxes on her household help to be a distraction.

"They both recognized that you can't set an example of responsibility but accept a different standard of who serves," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader, a strong and early backer of Obama's presidential bid and a close Obama friend, said he would have been unable to operate "with the full faith of Congress and the American people."

The full faith of the people? Not this people. lol How you can overlook 128,ooo dollars is beyond me. Obama might have faith in his abilities to do certain jobs but I think we have had enough of people with some questionable ethics in their own lives. Maybe I am wrong, but ....

Boo,

Oops. Nevermind. That was yahoo and had my email address on it.