Boehner’s behavior turns out to be a great morality lesson for our time when it comes to understanding the sort of people who can rise to the top position in the House of Representatives—affectionately known as”the people’s house.” While Speaker Boehner apparently has no problem making the eradication of healthcare subsidies for Members of Congress and their staffs the straw that broke the government’s back, it turns out that it was Speaker John Boehner who was personally responsible for getting the government to agree to give Congress back the contributions to their healthcare in the first place! When Obamacare was signed into law, including the provision requiring Members of Congress and their staffs to purchase their healthcare on the exchanges to be created under the law (with the exception of committee staff who managed to exempt themselves), there were no subsidies made available to these people beyond the subsidies they would be allowed to access on the exchanges if they earned a low enough salary to qualify. This, understandably, struck many in Congress—particularly among the Congressional staff who do not get paid very much—as grievously unfair given that the overwhelming majority of Americans receive their healthcare benefits through their employment, complete with employer contributions covering a large portion of premium costs. Yet, employees of Congress were being denied this same benefit and all because Senator Charles Grassley wanted to try and embarrass the Democrats—an effort that not only failed but backfired on Grassley’s colleagues and their employees.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 01:12:59 +0000
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