“Bye bye, Cornhusker Kickback. Hello, special treatment for Tennessee and possibly North Dakota. Democrats unveiling revisions Thursday to their health care overhaul bill decided to kill the extra $100 million in Medicaid funds for Nebraska that has become a symbol of backdoor deal-making…..[T]hough the bill would revamp the nation’s student loan system to make the government the only lender, one bank — the state-owned Bank of North Dakota — would be allowed to continue making student loans. That provision ended up rubbing Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., the wrong way. Fearing it would become a target by Republicans in what he said is ‘an overly heated partisan environment,’ he asked the House late Thursday to remove it from the legislation. A spokesman for Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., said the provision was removed after Conrad’s request. ‘It’s out of the package now,’ spokesman Brenden Timpe said. ‘It’s kind of a moot point.’ He pointed out the provision was added while the Senate was considering a separate student loan overhaul bill, meaning it wasn’t a new addition designed to get Pomeroy’s health care vote as some Republicans accused Thursday.” (“Health care package adds, removes Bank of N.D. item,” Grand Forks Herald, 03/19/10)