Posted on 08/06/2013 10:49:20 AM PDT by jazusamo
Members of Congress are brazenly insisting the laws they pass apply to everyone but themselves.
Republicans and Democrats, who can agree on almost nothing else, are planning to exempt themselves and their staff from Sect. 1312 (d) of the Affordable Care Act that requires them to get their health insurance on the newly created insurance exchanges and pay the same premiums the public will have to pay...
Currently, members of Congress and their staff are covered by plans they chose through the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, with taxpayers picking up 75 percent of the tab. The thinking behind the new requirement is that what's good enough for the public ought to be good enough for Congress.
Sadly, Washington lawmakers don't agree. They claim that despite their generous salaries (members earn $174,000), they can't afford Obamacare premiums. What the government deems "affordable" for the rest of us isn't affordable for them.
For example, in New York City, a family of three with a household income of $80,000 will be required to pay a whopping $12,784 for the second cheapest silver plan with a $3,000 deductible. This family won't be eligible for a tax credit. Washington says $12,784 is "affordable" for them. But not for a member of Congress with more than double that income. Under the scheme the lawmakers are pushing, they would have to pay only $3,193 for the same plan.
Nothing in the Affordable Care Act allows this break for members of Congress and their staff. But for weeks, lawmakers from both parties — who can agree on nothing else — have been conspiring to weasel out of paying what the public has to pay.
(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...
Again. They’ve been doing that since the 1930s.
We ought to pick one week and flood our congressmen with applications to work for them. We should say we are just as qualified as the parasites they have working for them now and we want our subsidized health care.
Did you know that in some states (maybe all, I don’t know), congressional staff people are exempt from jury duty? What they do is just too important to be interrupted, you know. I’m surprised the poor little lambs ever get a vacation.
The USA has become one colossal JOKE.
Ya know why?
Cuz 80% of Americans are apathetic! They don’t know and don’t care.
No man bites dog here.
REALLY time for that new amendment: Congress shall pass no law that is not equally binding upon all residents of the United States; there shall be no exceptions for elected officials or appointees at any level of government.
Time for an amendment?
The members of Congress shall not be exempted from any law that the People must obey
I exempt myself as well.
Good enough for them, good enough for me.
The American revolution was fought over less.
It really is pathetic that those in government make special laws and rules only for themselves, they’re there to represent everyone.
Ping to the article at the link.
This one definitely makes it appear that both sides are silent on this thing on purpose. The silence means that they want the exemption.
Congress is also exempt from “insider trading” laws.
Crooks, sellouts, traitors, and power mad thugs.
But then, most of them ARE lawyers.
A new Constitutional amendment is in order:
Congress shall make no law that exempts itself or any person legally present in the United States.
...................
Correct.
Sadly, at least half of the voters in this country don't understand the American Revolution, when it was fought, or who fought in it. A (slightly) smaller subset doesn't know what "Revolution" means, and can't find "America" on a world map.
Far, far less.
All hail the leaders.
Sadly, most of these lemmings don't even know there WAS a revolution, let alone understand it.
Actually, this blogger HAS GOT THIS WRONG. Congress, in the Affordable Care Act (AFA) and at the insistance of Republican Senator Grassley, specifically said that members of Congress and their staffs must ALL go to the AFA exchanges to get their insurance coverage effective with January 1, 2014 (i.e., this October and November they would be picking their insurance from the exchange).
Now normally they would be eligible for only INCOME BASED subsidies just like any other poor Schmuck who gets his/her insurance from the exchange. And of course, since they have relatively high incomes, most of them would be eligible for only a small subsidy or no subsidy at all, depending on their income.
Congress didn’t do anything to change that. The OBAMA ADMINISTRATION unilaterally, and IMHO outside of the law, had the federal Office of Personnel Management decide that they would reimburse the employees for about 75% of the cost.
didn’t they pass a law that says they cannot exempt themselves from any law they write?
(I am NOT joking)
I think it was during clintoon (the sinkmeister)
Am I not part of the federal government too?
Well, there wasn’t unanimous support for the Revolution at the time—A number of colonists remained loyal to the king. That didn’t stop the rest from proceeding.
and here i thought members of congress were citizens of the same country as i am
silly me
Impeachment File on Benghazi Coward “B. Hussein Obama,” formerly known as Barry Soetoro, currently a Legal Citizen of the Sovereign Nation of Indonesia.
> I exempt myself as well.
> Good enough for them, good enough for me.
Just as binding: they didn’t have to legally alter the law, so why should you?
Yep.
I am no man’s subject. What they do, I do.
Eh, what else is new. We’re owned...
Even Republicans like Senator Tom Coburn desire an Obamacare Congress exemption:
“I don’t care what the answer is. Give us an answer so that if we want to do a legislative fix to take care of the people who actually work for us. I mean, they’re going to be the only set of federal employees that actually get paid by the federal government that have to go into the exchange. [OPM knows] the answer—they just won’t share it. And I want time to legislate on it before we lose half our staff.”
http://www.inquisitr.com/884086/obamacare-congress-exempt-from-affordable-care-act/
Looks like you are reading into this whatever you want to find. Sort of like climate change consensus research.
Aw, c’mon, x-spurt. You’re a stand-up guy. You know that Coburn’s statement is in favor of congress getting a deal.
Whale, we be a representative Republic, and our representatives only express our own desires to be excerpted from all laws!
80% of Americans are as aware of the surrounding reality as Rachel Jeantel.
All I could take from the verbiage “reported” as Coburn’s, was he may be planting seeds that could undermine all of nobamacare. No where does he say he thought the WhiteyHut’s illegal waiver was good.
His concern was staff quitting over nobamacare costs. The way I look at that is that there is probably a hundred waiting for any opening by staff quitting.
The one thing Coburn does reinforce is that DC is more like a Club than a workplace and that “DC attitude” in itself has worked against DC ever doing the right most practical things. I would like to see at least Congress moved to Kansas.
BTTT!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.