Nancy Pelosi Says She Doesn’t Know Who Jonathan Gruber Is. But in 2009, She Cited His Work By Name.

When asked
Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was asked today for
comment about MIT professor Jonathan Gruber’s
recent remarks that “lack of transparency” and “the stupidity
of the American voter” were critical to helping pass Obamacare, she
responded briskly: “I don’t know who he is. He didn’t help write
our bill.” 

Watch the complete video of her denial
here, via C-SPAN.

Did Gruber help write the Affordable Care Act? According to

a 2012 article in The New York Times, he
did: 

After Mr. Gruber helped the administration put together the
basic principles of the proposal, the White House lent him to
Capitol Hill to help Congressional staff members draft the
specifics of the legislation.

As for whether Pelosi’s claim to not know who he is, well, she
knew who he was November of 2009, and said so at a press
conference.

The Washington Post
dug up a transcript of Pelosi citing Gruber’s work by name in
support of Obamacare. Here’s the relevant section: 

Q: As you know, the Republicans released their health- care bill
this week. And I wanted to get your comment on the bill, and
specifically on the CBO analysis that it would cost significantly
less than the Democratic plan and that it would lower premiums.

PELOSI: Let me just say this. Anything you need to know about
the difference between the Democratic bill and the Republican bill
is that the Republicans do not end the health insurance companies’
discrimination against people with preexisting conditions. They let
that stand. That’s scandalous, the fact that it exists. I don’t
understand why they have not heard the American people, who have
said preexisting conditions should not be a source of
discrimination.

And secondly, the Republican plan ensures about 3 million more
people than now, and ours does 36 million people. So that’s a very
big difference in that.

We’re not finished getting all of our reports back from CBO, but
we’ll have a side by side to compare. But our bill brings down
rates. I don’t know if you have seen Jonathan
Gruber of MIT’s analysis of what the comparison is to the
status quo versus what will happen in our bill for those who seek
insurance within the exchange.  [emphasis
added]

In addition, Pelosi’s office
touted Gruber’s analysis of the law’s premiums
on the House Speaker’s website. For that matter,
so did the White House. There’s just no question that Gruber
was closely involved with the creation of the law, and widely cited
as an authority on how it would work. 

In attempting to deny any connection between herself and Gruber,
or between Gruber and the law, after Gruber claimed that “lack of
transparency” was key, Pelosi ended up proving Gruber’s essential
point, which is in making the case for Obamacare, supporters of the
law have not been transparent with the public.