House investigators made a formal request that White House officials stop refusing to give Congress the internal memoranda written during the Obamacare negotiations, and expressed anger that the press received access to these memos ahead of Congress.
“The White House has consistently refused our legitimate requests for information regarding this important piece of legislation [Obamacare],” House Energy and Commerce Comittee leaders wrote to President Obama’s outgoing and incoming chiefs of staff. “It is outrageous that despite our multiple efforts to obtain information about the negotiations and deals entered into by the White House, Congress has only been provided with material prviously made publicly available, while the administration selectively provides such information to The New Yorker.”
The legislators argued that Obama “has waived any right to refuse production of these materials” by giving some of the documents to the press.
Obama has subordinated congressional requests for Obamacare information in the past. For instance, Health and Human Services (HHS) officials briefed lobbyists on a December conference call about upcoming regulations related to the law. “Congressional aides were turned away” from the call, according to a Republican staffer, as the lawmakers had to wait for a few hours after the lobbyist call to talk with HHS about the proposals.
