WASHINGTON — It is not uncommon on Capitol Hill for lawmakers to champion the cause of a lobbying group with unoriginal letters — but they often take a few creative liberties.
Not so with Rep. Phil Gingrey who, in a letter to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, used the exact same phrasing that showed up in another letter signed by Reps. Bill Cassidy and John Barrow and other House members.
The letters both supported the position taken by America's Health Insurance Plans, a group that, among other priorities, wants to prevent cuts to spending on Medicare Advantage.
Other lawmakers were more creative with their letters backing that cause: Sen. Orrin Hatch and Reps. Dave Camp and Fred Upton reworded their message, and they even added bullet points to diverge from the form letter.
All received press-release nods for their written support.
Gingrey's office did not respond to a request for further comment.
Correction: The original version of this post stated that the wording of the identical letters originated with America's Health Insurance Plans. In fact, according to Cassidy's and Barrow's offices, the wording was their own and later duplicated by Gingrey's office. We regret the error.