John Boehner Privately Fought For Health Subsidies He Publicly Said Congress Shouldn’t Have
House Speaker John Boehner asked his House colleagues Monday to vote for a bill that would ban members from getting a “so-called exemption” for their health insurance. Boehner posed as someone fighting for House members to be treated like every other American. Only, Boehner had been working for months to save these subsidies for his colleagues and himself.
“Why don’t we make sure that every American is treated just like we are?” Boehner asked, seeking to prohibit members of Congress and Capitol Hill aides from getting thousands of dollars in subsidies for their health insurance as they join Obamacare-mandated insurance exchanges.
Yet behind-the-scenes, Boehner and his aides worked for months with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and others, to save these very same, long-standing subsidies, according to documents and e-mails provided to POLITICO. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was also aware of these discussions, the documents show…
Boehner’s aides vehemently deny that the speaker’s private efforts contradict his public statements on the issue. They insist Democrats were the ones who enacted Obamacare and it is up to them to address the problem. Boehner said the White House should correct the problem though through an administrative solution, stating that no bill to do so could pass Congress.
