Most members of Congress think they just received a tremendous personal gift on Obamacare, courtesy of President Obama, and paid for by taxpayers. But according to a new poll, this issue cuts across all demographics with unrivaled unanimity: if they accept the gift, they put themselves at risk of losing reelection. What’s a congressman or senator to do? Hopefully they’ll use the upcoming continuing resolution (CR) to turn this issue to advantage.
Let’s back up a few weeks. Heading into the August recess, after facing tremendous pressure from Nancy Pelosi and others, President Obama directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to solve an intractable problem: Under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, members of Congress and their staff are no longer allowed to receive their generous health benefits from the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), but are required to get their healthcare from the newly created exchanges like millions of other Americans.
