Senator David Vitter (R-La.), Chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, today released a Chairman’s report entitled, “Above the People: An Investigation of Congress’ Fraudulent Obamacare Subsidy and the Cover Up to Continue the Special Exemption.” Vitter will be introducing updated legislation this week to end Washington’s Obamacare Exemption.

“Washington’s Obamacare Exemption represents a level of arrogance from Congress and DC’s elite that fundamentally undermines our nation’s government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” said Vitter. “The closed-door, back-channel dealings that led to Congress exempting itself from Obamacare is one of the biggest frauds we’ve ever seen, and far too many Washington elites are trying to keep it covered up.”

The report documents the process through which Congress exempted itself from Obamacare, highlighting its circumvention of the law, and how an entity with roughly 15,000 employees was allowed to enter a healthcare exchange for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. It also details the extensive investigation by Chairman Vitter to bring transparency to these events, as well as the efforts by Congress and others to thwart his investigation. The report concludes with a series of unanswered questions that will remain unanswered until the responsible parties for the Washington Obamacare Exemption are no longer allowed to hide behind their elected positions.

The report outlines unanswered questions that Chairman Vitter is still working to uncover, including:

• What was the rationale behind forcing Congress into the District of Columbia Health Benefits Exchange Authority (DCHBEA) SHOP Exchange, despite its illegality?
• Which members of Congress and White House officials participated in the closed-door meetings to formulate the OPM rule exempting Congress from Obamacare?
• Which offices and/or officials in Congress, the White House, or otherwise, completed or directed the completion of the SHOP Exchange applications containing the fraudulent misrepresentations?
• Who decided that both the House and Senate DCHBEA SHOP applications should contain the exact same misrepresentations?

Vitter has been investigating how the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives were allowed to apply to the DC Healthlink small business exchange in order to receive special Obamacare subsidies. Earlier this year, the Senate passed Vitter’s legislation “No Washington Exemption from Obamacare” as an amendment to the budget resolution. Click here to read more.

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