Federal funding, Medicare plan specifics draw campaign-trail reports

News outlets examine the federal funds received by Texas while Rick Perry has been the state's governor as well as some of the positions taken by Mitt Romney.

Politico: Rick Perry's Texas Gets Plenty Of Money From The Feds
The first rule of asking for extra federal dollars in Texas is to never make it seem like you are asking for extra federal dollars. For Gov. Rick Perry, this is a tricky line to walk. Because as much as the Republican presidential candidate bashes the federal government in his campaign speeches, Texas gets a lot of money from the feds -; and a lot of it is going to the health care system he insists Texas can handle on its own. Perry has repeatedly decried the spending culture of Washington, railing against both President Barack Obama's health care law and the federal stimulus. But as it happens, Texas has taken a lot of money from both. More than $380 million in early grants and other aid from the federal health law have already gone to businesses and agencies in the Lone Star State, according to figures from the Department of Health and Human Services, and Texas ended up with $17 billion from the stimulus. Now, the state is waiting for final approval of a new waiver from federal Medicaid rules that could allow the state to draw down an additional $12 billion in funds from the federal government (Nocera, 11/25).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Democratic National Committee Ad Targets Romney Over Flip-Flops On Key Issues
The Democratic National Committee ad, called "Mitt versus Mitt," argues that Romney has changed his views on health care and abortion rights, showing contradictory clips of Romney on the issues. "From the creator of 'I'm running for office for Pete's sake,' comes the story of two men trapped in one body," the ad says (Thomas, 11/28).

Boston Globe: Romney's Medicare Plan Short On Details
Mitt Romney's ambitious plan to rein in federal Medicare spending would give America's seniors a choice: choose government insurance or use a federal voucher to buy medical insurance from private companies. The idea, according to Romney, is to drive down costs by introducing market competition. ... But while Romney's partial privatization route is applauded by some as a courageous solution to runaway costs, Democrats and some other critics say that it relies too heavily on unreliable market forces to lower costs. They contend it lacks strong regulatory checks on runaway medical inflation (Jan, 11/26).