edthecynic
Censored for Cynicism
- Oct 20, 2008
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What a worthless scum bag!
Guess Who Pushed Hard For Obamacare Subsidies For Congress Before Using Those Subsidies To Shutter Government? - Forbes
Last night, Speaker John Boehner took to the floor of the House of Representatives to insist that the subsidies being provided to Members of Congress and their staffsmoney from their employer that will assist them in paying for the health insurance they will now be purchasing on the new healthcare exchangesbe revoked as part of a deal to keep government functioning.
Why dont we make sure that every American is treated just like we are? bellowed the Speaker of the House in an effort to convince Americans that the House Republicans are sticking up for the interests of the Regular Jane and Joe.
Of course, helping every American to be treated just as Congress has been treated for all these years is precisely what the Affordable Care Act is all about, despite Boehners protestations to the contrary.
snip/
In fact, Boehners 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 Representativesaffectionately known asthe peoples 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 governments 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!
snip/
It turns out that from February through July of this year, Boehner joined with Reid in drafting a legislative fix that would return subsidized healthcare to Congress. During that same period, the two leaders also followed a different tactic involving leaning on the Office of Personal Management to fix the probleman effort that eventually succeeded.
So dire was the Speakers concern, he requested a meeting with the President to personally lobby for Obamas support for the return of government contributions to assist those employed by Congress in purchasing their health insurance. When that meeting failed to materialize, one of Boehners senior aides spoke directly with White House Chief of Staff, Dennis McDonough, about the Speakers desire to get the government to subsidize healthcare benefits in the Congress as they previously had done.
Remarkably, Boehners stating last night that Congressional employees should not be entitled to these subsidies because they should be treated like every American (a statement that, on its face, makes no sense whatsoever), is the precise opposite of what Boehner, and other Members of Congress, were arguing when the Office of Personal Management initially rejected their request for subsidies.
When OPM first said that, under the law, the subsidies could not be made available to Congress, many on the Hill reacted angrily, arguing that they were being denied a level playing field with their fellow Americans who do receive these contributions from their employers.
snip/
And yet, despite Boehners lead role in accomplishing the return of the subsidies for his Members and their staffs, this did not, for one moment, prevent him from introducing a rule to take them away or leave the nation to do without their government if he did not get his way. He did this with a a straight face and an expression of completely disingenuous angerthat we have come to expect from the Speaker and his party in Congress.
No politics here, right?
So, after working hard to create this benefit for his fellow government employees in the House and Senate, we are left to experience a government shutdownwhich will negatively impact on millions of Americansbecause John Boehner did not get his way on a demand to kill a benefit that would not even exist were it not for John Boehner.
What a country.
Guess Who Pushed Hard For Obamacare Subsidies For Congress Before Using Those Subsidies To Shutter Government? - Forbes
Last night, Speaker John Boehner took to the floor of the House of Representatives to insist that the subsidies being provided to Members of Congress and their staffsmoney from their employer that will assist them in paying for the health insurance they will now be purchasing on the new healthcare exchangesbe revoked as part of a deal to keep government functioning.
Why dont we make sure that every American is treated just like we are? bellowed the Speaker of the House in an effort to convince Americans that the House Republicans are sticking up for the interests of the Regular Jane and Joe.
Of course, helping every American to be treated just as Congress has been treated for all these years is precisely what the Affordable Care Act is all about, despite Boehners protestations to the contrary.
snip/
In fact, Boehners 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 Representativesaffectionately known asthe peoples 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 governments 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!
snip/
It turns out that from February through July of this year, Boehner joined with Reid in drafting a legislative fix that would return subsidized healthcare to Congress. During that same period, the two leaders also followed a different tactic involving leaning on the Office of Personal Management to fix the probleman effort that eventually succeeded.
So dire was the Speakers concern, he requested a meeting with the President to personally lobby for Obamas support for the return of government contributions to assist those employed by Congress in purchasing their health insurance. When that meeting failed to materialize, one of Boehners senior aides spoke directly with White House Chief of Staff, Dennis McDonough, about the Speakers desire to get the government to subsidize healthcare benefits in the Congress as they previously had done.
Remarkably, Boehners stating last night that Congressional employees should not be entitled to these subsidies because they should be treated like every American (a statement that, on its face, makes no sense whatsoever), is the precise opposite of what Boehner, and other Members of Congress, were arguing when the Office of Personal Management initially rejected their request for subsidies.
When OPM first said that, under the law, the subsidies could not be made available to Congress, many on the Hill reacted angrily, arguing that they were being denied a level playing field with their fellow Americans who do receive these contributions from their employers.
snip/
And yet, despite Boehners lead role in accomplishing the return of the subsidies for his Members and their staffs, this did not, for one moment, prevent him from introducing a rule to take them away or leave the nation to do without their government if he did not get his way. He did this with a a straight face and an expression of completely disingenuous angerthat we have come to expect from the Speaker and his party in Congress.
No politics here, right?
So, after working hard to create this benefit for his fellow government employees in the House and Senate, we are left to experience a government shutdownwhich will negatively impact on millions of Americansbecause John Boehner did not get his way on a demand to kill a benefit that would not even exist were it not for John Boehner.
What a country.
