Partner, Tarplin, Downs & Young


Representing

Jennifer Young

the GOP point of view regarding the 110th Congress that begins in January, Jennifer Young, a partner with Tarplin, Downs & Young, was somber.

Just a few weeks after Republicans lost control of the House and Senate, Young set low expectations for what her party could accomplish while in the minority.

"They're just going to try to protect the things that were important to members when they passed initially," she said.

While noting the possibility of bipartisanship on some issues - such as making improvements in health care information technology and reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program - Young flatly rejected one of the initiatives most important to Democrats: allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices with manufacturers.

"That's a significant step toward government controls and price setting in Medicare," she said.

While this and other significant philosophical differences will obviously remain between the two parties, Young suggested that Republicans might return to Washington chastened by their experience at the ballot box and less combative.

"I think that thoughtful Republicans who learned the lesson of the elections will come to the next Congress humbled and prepared to engage in bipartisan discussions," said said.