Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has taken a note from the fight to defund Obamacare, introducing a constitutional amendment requiring government officials to be held to the same laws as everyday Americans.
Paul introduced Senate Joint Resolution 25, a constitutional amendment that would “hold government officials to the same standard as the American people,” according to a press release. Likely spurned from the confusion surrounding government officials’ requirement to seek health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the provision would apply to all three branches of government.
“Congress shall make no law applicable to a citizen of the United States that is not equally applicable to Congress,” the amendment states.
The measure also contains two provisions that would cover both the Executive and Judicial branches.
The resolution was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the release stated, and if passed would become the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 27th amendment, which prohibits a law affecting Congressional salaries from taking effect until the next set of terms of office begins, was adopted in 1992.
Paul’s amendment comes after the federal government shuttered for two weeks as a result of the debate to defund Obamacare. Republicans in both chambers argued members of Congress and officials in the Executive Branch — namely the President — should be required to enter into Obamacare’s health insurance marketplaces, as opposed to keeping their cadillac health plans.
The House and the Senate finally ended the shutdown last week after the President signed an 11th-hour deal funding the federal government.
