July 28th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government president, Bill Wilson, today again called upon members of the House of Representatives to adopt a resolution (H. Res. 615) and “forgo their right to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and agree to enroll under the same public option that they are forcing upon everyone else.”
“Congress has a long history of carving out special deals for themselves—laws that are passed, rules and regulations that are applied to American citizens that Congress has a waiver for and doesn’t have to deal with,” said the bill’s sponsor, Congressman John Fleming, in a recent interview with the Washington News Observer broadcast news service.
According to ALG’s Wilson, “This is a perfect opportunity for members of the House to show that they are willing to participate in the same labyrinthine regulations that they expect the American people to suffer under with the proposed ObamaCare abomination,” said Wilson.
“We are watching the cosponsors list very closely,” Wilson added.
The resolution currently has 61 cosponsors. According to Fleming, “There has not been a single Democrat to sign on. And we have reached out to them. We have reached out to Henry Waxman and to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I’ve not had any takers.”
Wilson said members “are just applying the same-old Washington mantra, ‘do as I say, not as I do.”
Currently, members of the House and Senate are covered by a health care plan offering a wide variety of options, including private coverage, according to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan website, “Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country.”
As participants, members of Congress can choose from “Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans that offer catastrophic risk protection with higher deductibles, health savings/reimbursable accounts and lower premiums, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans, and their Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) if you live (or sometimes if you work) within the area serviced by the plan.”
Wilson also called upon the House Energy and Commerce committee, which is still considering the legislation, to adopt a binding measure that would require all members of Congress to enroll in the government-run health insurance option if lawmakers adopt one.
“It’s time for Congress to get a taste of its own medicine,” said Wilson. “If Congress is so unwilling to sign up for the so-called public ‘option,’ then why should the American people be willing to support it at all?”
Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
# # #