More evidence has emerged that the Bush administration purposely mislead Congress on the actual cost of a major Medicare bill that Congress approved last year by one vote. Last week the longtime Medicare actuary Richard Foster came public and said when he discovered the estimated cost of the program was at least $135 billion higher than Congress was being told, he was explicitly warned to keep quiet. Until now the Bush administration has rejected Foster’s accusations. But the Wall Street Journal has obtained an email sent to Foster that explicitly said to share his findings only with his supervisor and quote “No one else.” The message went on to say “The consequences for insubordination are extremely severe.” Meanwhile in other news related to the Medicare vote, the House ethics committee announced Wednesday it will begin a formal inquiry into claims by Michigan Republican Congressman Nick Smith that Republican leaders tried to bribe him and threaten him in order to win his vote on Medicare. After hours of wrangling, Smith voted with the Republican leadership and the Medicare bill passed by one vote.