Do As I Say
Brian
7,618 Posts
Not as I do.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/obamacare-exemption-lawmakers-aides-90610.html
Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption
Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama???s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.
The talks ??? which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers ??? are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said.
Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move forward with the plan, they risk being dubbed hypocrites by their political rivals and the American public. By removing themselves from a key Obamacare component, lawmakers and aides would be held to a different standard than the people who put them in office.
Democrats, in particular, would take a public hammering as the traditional boosters of Obamacare. Republicans would undoubtedly attempt to shred them over any attempt to escape coverage by it, unless Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) give Democrats cover by backing it.
There is concern in some quarters that the provision requiring lawmakers and staffers to join the exchanges, if it isn???t revised, could lead to a ???brain drain??? on Capitol Hill, as several sources close to the talks put it.
The problem stems from whether members and aides set to enter the exchanges would have their health insurance premiums subsidized by their employer ??? in this case, the federal government. If not, aides and lawmakers in both parties fear that staffers ??? especially low-paid junior aides ??? could be hit with thousands of dollars in new health care costs, prompting them to seek jobs elsewhere. Older, more senior staffers could also retire or jump to the private sector rather than face a big financial penalty.
Plus, lawmakers ??? especially those with long careers in public service and smaller bank accounts ??? are also concerned about the hit to their own wallets.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is worried about the provision. The No. 2 House Democrat has personally raised the issue with Boehner and other party leaders, sources said.
???Mr. Hoyer is looking at this policy, like all other policies in the Affordable Care Act, to ensure they???re being implemented in a way that???s workable for everyone, including members and staff,??? said Katie Grant, Hoyer???s communications director.
Several proposals have been submitted to the Office of Personnel Management, which will administer the benefits. One proposal exempts lawmakers and aides; the other exempts aides alone.
When asked about the high-level bipartisan talks, Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, said: ???The speaker???s objective is to spare the entire country from the ravages of the president???s health care law. He is approached daily by American citizens, including members of Congress and staff, who want to be freed from its mandates. If the speaker has the opportunity to save anyone from Obamacare, he will.???
Reid???s office declined to comment about the bipartisan talks.
However, the idea of exempting lawmakers and aides from the exchanges has its detractors, including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), a key Obamacare architect. Waxman thinks there is confusion about the content of the law. The Affordable Care Act, he said, mandates that the federal government will still subsidize and provide health plans obtained in the exchange. There will be no additional cost to lawmakers and Hill aides, he contends.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/obamacare-exemption-lawmakers-aides-90610.html
Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption
Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama???s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.
The talks ??? which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers ??? are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said.
Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move forward with the plan, they risk being dubbed hypocrites by their political rivals and the American public. By removing themselves from a key Obamacare component, lawmakers and aides would be held to a different standard than the people who put them in office.
Democrats, in particular, would take a public hammering as the traditional boosters of Obamacare. Republicans would undoubtedly attempt to shred them over any attempt to escape coverage by it, unless Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) give Democrats cover by backing it.
There is concern in some quarters that the provision requiring lawmakers and staffers to join the exchanges, if it isn???t revised, could lead to a ???brain drain??? on Capitol Hill, as several sources close to the talks put it.
The problem stems from whether members and aides set to enter the exchanges would have their health insurance premiums subsidized by their employer ??? in this case, the federal government. If not, aides and lawmakers in both parties fear that staffers ??? especially low-paid junior aides ??? could be hit with thousands of dollars in new health care costs, prompting them to seek jobs elsewhere. Older, more senior staffers could also retire or jump to the private sector rather than face a big financial penalty.
Plus, lawmakers ??? especially those with long careers in public service and smaller bank accounts ??? are also concerned about the hit to their own wallets.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is worried about the provision. The No. 2 House Democrat has personally raised the issue with Boehner and other party leaders, sources said.
???Mr. Hoyer is looking at this policy, like all other policies in the Affordable Care Act, to ensure they???re being implemented in a way that???s workable for everyone, including members and staff,??? said Katie Grant, Hoyer???s communications director.
Several proposals have been submitted to the Office of Personnel Management, which will administer the benefits. One proposal exempts lawmakers and aides; the other exempts aides alone.
When asked about the high-level bipartisan talks, Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, said: ???The speaker???s objective is to spare the entire country from the ravages of the president???s health care law. He is approached daily by American citizens, including members of Congress and staff, who want to be freed from its mandates. If the speaker has the opportunity to save anyone from Obamacare, he will.???
Reid???s office declined to comment about the bipartisan talks.
However, the idea of exempting lawmakers and aides from the exchanges has its detractors, including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), a key Obamacare architect. Waxman thinks there is confusion about the content of the law. The Affordable Care Act, he said, mandates that the federal government will still subsidize and provide health plans obtained in the exchange. There will be no additional cost to lawmakers and Hill aides, he contends.
Comments
Washington airports spared sequester impacts
The chief of the FAA told Congress today that Washington-area airports will largely escape the effects of the air traffic controller furloughs ??? a blessing for lawmakers who fly out of the nation???s capitol.
Michael Huerta, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, told a congressional panel that the Washington region???s airports are spaced out enough and have enough spare capacity that furloughs to air traffic controllers won???t hurt as much here.
He also said Atlanta should escape major problems because the big airfield there has five runways, which makes it easier to space flights out.
That???s not the case in places like New York City, where several big airports are clustered together.
The furloughs of air traffic controllers ??? which the FAA said it had to do because of budget sequesters ??? has created delays at some airports. With fewer air traffic controllers, flights are being spaced out more, meaning planes depart their gates on time but can end up sitting on the runway for two hours awaiting clearance from the tower