If Øcare is so great, then why don’t they want it?

March 2010: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)

PPACA Section 1312(d)(3)(D) (enacted as public law 111-148) requires all members of Congress and congressional staff to get Obamacare.

(D) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN THE EXCHANGE-

(i) REQUIREMENT – Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this subtitle, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are:

I) created under this act; or

II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act).

July-August 2013: President Obama, Members of Congress and Karen Archuleta – Obama’s appointed head the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – meet in closed door sessions to discuss the troubling (to them) fact that under Obamacare, they would not only lose their gold-plated healthcare coverage, but they’d also lose the hefty percentage of the premiums that taxpayers kick in as “employer contributions.”

Sept 2013: OPM issued a 17-page document unilaterally overturning Section 1312(d)(3)(D) of the Obamacare LAW, so Members of Congress can stay on their cushy plans-with-benefits and not have to endure the odious high costs and rotten coverage that PPACA is forcing on the rest of us.

Do these people need taxpayers helping out with their premiums? Hmmmmm, let me think.

• Annual salary for President Barack Obama (D) = $400,000
• Annual salary for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) = $174,000
• Annual salary for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): $193,400
• (These amounts are ONLY their personal salaries. They do not include the additional moneys allocated for staff, travel and other perqs.)

Senator Vitter (R-Louisiana) responded to this OPM law breaking with Senate Bill 1497: “No Exemption for Washington from Obamacare Act.” Co-sponsors of the bill include Ted Cruz, Ted Inhofe, Michael Enzi, Ron Johnson, Dean Heller, Lindsey Graham, and Mike Lee.

• In order for this legislation to be brought to the floor of the Senate, it must be approved by the Senate Majority Leader.
• The current Senate Majority Leader is Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) who routinely blocks any bill presented by Republicans, even if they’ve been passed in the House by a bi-partisan majority and are popular with the people.
• Senator Reid has refused to allow Vitter’s bill to even be DISCUSSED by the Senate, never mind brought to a vote. As long as the Democrats hold a majority of the seats in the Senate, this situation will not change.

Source:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2013/11/14/obamacare-the-real-story-behind-the-congressional-exemption/
• http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/325201-no-congressional-obamacare-exemptions
• http://www.legistorm.com/salaries.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States
• http://www.legistorm.com/member/79/Sen_Harry_Reid.html
• http://www.legistorm.com/member/416/Rep_Nancy_Pelosi.html