Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
No, Congress is Not a Small Business
Was Barack Obama worried that if legislators had to live under Obamacare they might be more sympathetic to the law’s critics? Many believe that’s exactly why the President administratively arranged a special waiver for Congress. Their “waiver” contravenes unambiguous language in the Affordable Care Act that defines Congressional participation. But how do you administer such a patently illegal exemption? Through the friendly DC Small Business Exchange of course.
Congress must be the biggest “small business” ever served by the DC Small Business ObamaCare Exchange. The application was signed by someone from the Senate and someone else in the House (their names have been redacted) and the fact that they each swore (upon penalty of perjury) that each body has only 45 employees – since 50 is the legal maximum – is being studiously ignored by all involved. (Scroll down here to see the redacted documents received by Judicial Watch from their FOIA request.)
Apparently, giving them a special waiver that goes through a small business exchange is just “small potatoes” as far as the Administration and legislators are concerned. In fact, Rand Paul (!) recently led four other Republican Senators in opposing a Senate committee’s subpoena to uncover who actually signed the perjured application. They joined together with nine Democrats so that Small Business Committee chairman Senator David Vitter’s motion to uncover the signers failed.
So, for now, more than 13,000 House and Senate legislators and staff are considered working for a “small business” when it comes to their 75% subsidy of Gold level Obamacare coverage. The exchange also happily ignores calculating any earned income at all in awarding this subsidy. And, just to add one more sweet dollop to this mess, the exchange set up dedicated phone lines to help legislators avoid the frustration that citizens have experienced.
If anyone is serious about repealing and replacing this law, demanding that Congress experience it as others do is step one.
Published in General
I would really like to hear the explanation for the “no” votes by the four Republican senators. There may be some procedural or strategic concerns as to how the subpoena would promote the elimination of Obamacare, but I am hard-pressed to come up with some objection for exposing who in Congress committed perjury. I would like to hear their thoughts.
(dis)Like.
If anyone is serious about repealing and replacing this law, demanding that Congress experience it as others do is step one.
Agreed. I’d take it one step further and require Congressmen to live at home 6 months out of the year (or longer) so they have to live with everything they do.
Wait. Home? Home home? Not the Four Seasons on M Street? Home? Like back in their District ‘home’????
C’mon Mike. Have a heart.
Unbelievable!!!
Heather, you’re advocating that any Republican presidential candidate pledge to repeal Obamacare.
Actually, I’d setting for having every Republican in Congress pledge to join Obamacare.
“… each body has only 45 employees …”
I’m gobsmacked.
I’m for giving all members of congress severe chronic diarrhea with incontinence. Then I want them on an Obamacare policy that ends up having the patient on a 6 months waiting list to see a specialist. I’d like them all to suffer just to understand what they have wrought.
Obamacare has made the lives of those on it far harder than before ( minus the previously uninsured). I see the pain of it in my office every week in all sorts of ways. Damn this administration for their sins.
Rob, if the grassroots get their act together, members may already be on the exchanges – if only as a matter of self-preservation – by the time the election rolls around. :)
addendum: this just up at NR: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/418055/how-five-republicans-let-congress-keep-its-fraudulent-obamacare-subsidies-brendan
As the NR piece indicates, the kingpin in this business of preventing Vitter from finding out who lied is none other than Rand Paul. The other four Republicans were induced to give him cover by Mitch McConnell.
When Paul campaigns, people ought to hammer him until he comes clean.
EACH Senator or Representative is a separate small business because none have a staff of more than 50. You essentially have 535 small businesses that make up Congress. The letter of the law folks. These guys are better than good at it.