Rep. Berkley’s Efforts On Kidney Program Questioned

The New York Times: A Congresswoman's Cause Is Often Her Husband's Gain
At the University Medical Center [in Las Vegas], alarms were set off three years ago — kidney transplants were failing at unusually high rates ... Federal regulators moved to shut down the kidney transplant program ... In pleading for a reprieve, [Rep. Shelley] Berkley and other members of Nevada’s Congressional delegation said they were acting on behalf of the state's families, citing dire health consequences if the program was halted. But the congresswoman's efforts also benefited her husband, a physician whose nephrology practice directs medical services at the hospital’s kidney care department — an arrangement that expanded after her intervention and is now reflected in a $738,000-a-year contract with the hospital (Lipton, 9/5).