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Daschle Earned $200,000 In Health Care Speeches

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The Associated Press

Published: February 2, 2009

WASHINGTON - Tom Daschle collected nearly a quarter of a million dollars in fees in the past two years speaking to leaders of the industry President Barack Obama wants him to reform as the administration's health secretary.

That was just a portion of the more than $5.2 million the former South Dakota senator earned as he advised insurers and hospitals and worked in other industries - real estate, energy and telecommunications among them, according to a financial statement filed with the Office of Government Ethics.

Daschle's finances are drawing scrutiny because he failed to pay his taxes properly. Although he has made amends with the government, senators said Sunday that they are awaiting guidance from the committee reviewing Daschle's nomination before deciding whether the tax problem could stall or derail his confirmation. The Senate Finance Committee planned to meet in executive session today to discuss the nomination.

Obama has said no one in his administration who has lobbied on a set of issues within the past two years can deal with the same subject matter. The president has approved a few exceptions, one of them a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist selected as chief of staff for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Daschle, however, is not a registered lobbyist.

Jenny Backus, a spokeswoman for Daschle, said the hundreds of thousands of dollars he earned in speaking fees from health care interests do not pose conflict for the health care reform Obama wants him to lead.

"He welcomed every opportunity to make his case to the American public at large and the health industry in particular that America can't afford to ignore the health care crisis any longer," she said.

Daschle said in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services ethics office that if he is confirmed by the Senate, he will resign as a senior policy adviser at the Washington law firm Alston and Bird. He reported earnings of more than $2 million from that firm in the past two years.

Daschle also earned more than $2 million in consulting fees from InterMedia Advisors of New York, an investment firm specializing in buyouts and industry consolidation. He said he also intends to resign from that position if confirmed.

Daschle's financial disclosure report was released after he acknowledged that he had recently filed amended tax returns to report $128,203 in back taxes and $11,964 in interest. The amended returns reflect additional income for consulting work, the use of a car service and reduced deductions for charitable contributions.

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