Secretary Thompson Was For Stimulus,
Before He Was Against It
Thompson continues to keep full list of the “clients” a secret
MADISON – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed today that former Bush administration Cabinet Secretary Tommy Thompson would face tough questions about his supposed opposition to the Recovery and Reinvestment Act when his own business interests have benefitted from millions of dollars in stimulus funding.
Thompson has spent the last five years as a Washington D.C. insider who has made millions of dollars working on behalf of health insurance and pharmaceutical companies and the finance industry.
Speaking on behalf of Thompson, Bill McCoshen, told the media in March that Thompson was “disturbed” by the stimulus.
However, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today:
Thompson is tied to several businesses that have benefited directly from the stimulus plan.
For example, he is the president of Logistics Health Inc., a medical services firm based in La Crosse. Records show the company has won three stimulus contracts from Thompson’s former federal agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for $277,000.
While running unsuccessfully for president in 2007, Thompson disclosed that he received big consulting fees from pharmaceutical giant Novartis. The international company has been awarded three contracts under the stimulus plan for a whopping $46.9 million.
Thompson also was, until last year, the independent chairman of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, an arm of major accounting firm Deloitte & Touche.
The accounting giant and its consulting affiliate have received 10 contracts and two subcontracts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the official name of the stimulus plan, according to federal records. The total amount of taxpayer dollars to be paid under these 12 deals is more than $24 million.
“Secretary Thompson is for the stimulus when it benefits his business interests, but when it poses a political problem for him in a Republican primary he changes his tune,” said Mike Tate, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “If he enters this race he will be flip-flopping into the Republican primary.”
Secretary Thompson has kept his full list of clients a secret while he considers joining the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Both Terrence Wall and Dave Westlake have strongly opposed the Recovery and Reinvestment Act while Former Doyle Administration Secretary Dick Leinenkugel has spent the last 18 months promoting stimulus funding across the state.
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