? Congress Gets A Pass ?

[Quantum Windbag]

They are not exempt.

Please. Be as good as you cn be.

This just shows how out of touch you are.

I bet you would have gone apeshit if you were around for the banking scandal of the 1990s, but, for no other reason than this benefits Democrats, you support them doing the exact same thing today.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

They have always had their insurance subsidized as part of their compensation package. They are not exempt from the ACA.

Please......do not repeat a lie once you know it is a lie. It does a disservice.

Thanks.

And Obamacare specifically states that employers cannot contribute to the costs of an employee incurs in the exchange, yet you support an exemption because congresscritters always got it before. What about everyone else that always got it and no longer can?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Edgetho,

I know this is difficult for you to grasp. But you are wrong. Congress is not exempt from the ACA. They never were. You are horribly uninformed and unable to comprehend the words tht you read.

You are a stupid person. This is a lie that you believe because you desperately want it to be true. But..Congress is not exempt from the ACA and neither are the Congressional staffers.

You want to prove that you are right, find the part that allows employers to contribute to the cost of insurance in the exchange. Once you realize it doesn't exist, and that the only people in the entire country that get this benefit are congresscritters and their staff, come back and admit you are wrong.

 

[Lumpy 1]

Should Congress and their "special interests" be exempt from the legislation they pass...ie Obamacare?

I vote.. NO.. (with outrage)...if we're getting screwed, they should as well....

You don't have any idea what you are talking about.

They aren't "exempt".

If they lose their healthcare..they can get it from an exchange.

Gosh..

Oy vey...if you say it enough ... it must be so...

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Fact Check: Congress, staff are exempt from Obamacare ? CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

Good, let us see what your link says.

The law didn’t account for the continued employer contribution for these federal workers who would now be buying their insurance on the exchanges. The exchanges were designed to help people without health insurance and people with overly expensive health insurance. It became clear that without their employer contribution, members and their staffers would essentially be getting a cut in pay and benefits equal to thousands of dollars.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Fact Check: Congress, staff are exempt from Obamacare ? CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

I really like this one. It was written before the exemption came out, and actually said there were no secret meetings to exempt them from Obamacare. It doesn't adress the issue that Obama broke the law.

We contacted the Office of Personnel Management and received this statement from an administration official: “Members of Congress will not receive anything that is not available to the public. The law doesn’t allow them to get insurance from FEHB, they are going to get insurance on the market place, just like uninsured individuals and small businesses.”
We can’t say what did or didn’t happen in any secret meetings. But we can say that no bill has been introduced to exempt members of Congress from the Affordable Care Act — and they were never exempt in the first place. Even if, hypothetically, Congress were to nullify the provision requiring members and their staffs to get insurance on the exchanges, it still wouldn’t amount to an exemption from the law. Lawmakers and staffers would be subject to the mandate to have health insurance or pay a fine, just as everyone else is.
The law provides a few exemptions from the requirement to have insurance, but only for those who earn too little to file taxes, those with financial hardships, those who can’t find affordable coverage, and some religious groups that qualify for Social Security exemptions, mainly Mennonite or Amish.

By the way, the NYT is a good source for the facts here.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who proposed an early version of the idea, said he wanted to make sure that “members of Congress and Congressional staff get their employer-based health insurance through the same exchanges as our constituents.”
It has been a headache for many in Congress ever since.
Democrats and some Republicans wish the issue would simply disappear.
The 2010 law generally requires lawmakers and aides who work in their personal offices to get coverage through the exchanges. That implies that they would no longer receive coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
The law is silent on the question. It does not clearly authorize the government to pay premiums for federal employees who obtain insurance through the exchanges. Nor does it authorize the government to reimburse federal employees who buy health insurance on their own.

David M. Ermer, a lawyer who has represented insurers in the federal employee program for 30 years, said, “I do not think members of Congress and their staff can get funds for coverage in the exchanges under existing law.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/us/politics/wrinkle-in-health-law-vexes-lawmakers-aides.html

 

[Quantum Windbag]

From the link..

As it turns out, Grassley was wrong. Democrats didn’t reject the amendment. They accepted it, and now it’s part of the law. But that created a very weird situation. The federal government, like most large employers, not only provides the opportunity for its workers to get insurance. It also pays a large portion of the premium. Now that lawmakers and their advisers were going into the exchanges, what would happen to that contribution? Would they just lose the money?

The answer, the administration decided last week, is no. Lawmakers and their staffs could keep their employer contributions, and apply that money towards the cost of whatever insurance they buy in the exchanges.

And that will make them THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY that can do that.

Congress Gets ObamaCare Waiver - Fox Nation

THAT is the problem.

Nobody else can.

Nobody else can buy insurance through an exchange and have their employer pay for 3/4 of it.

Except Congress.

If that isn't an 'exemption' then what the **** is?

Yep, if anyone else does it it has to come as a pay raise, and be taxed.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Read the law, congress and their staffers ARE getting their insurance from the insurance policies on the exchange. PERIOD.

That is the law that Grassley put in there...to make certain that congress had to choose from the same insurance companies on the exchange as those who go on the exchange that do not have company provided group insurance....and that's precisely what they are doing....they no longer have their separate choice of insurance providers like you and I do if we have Insurance through our work...they now have to choose from the insurance providers on the exchange...

Why is that so hard for you intelligent folks out there to understand?

Grassley's amendment DID NOT say that they have to go on the exchange with the Insurance companies available on the exchange for their own insurance option choices AND THEIR EMPLOYER, the government, would NO LONGER compensate them for their insurance as a benefit....

JUST READ THE AMENDMENT.

The only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are — (I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or (II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act).

WHERE OH WHERE in this amendment does it say that these workers and Congressmen's Insurance benefit (their employer's contribution), would be TAKEN AWAY?????????

NO WHERE in that amendment.


so, it appears, and as usual lately, you are all barking up the wrong tree and have not used your God given brains to think things through.

Or you aren't teally examining the facts here. They are getting a tax free pay raise without it being voted on by Congress. I might be a little slow, but I am pretty sure that is unconstitutional.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Edgetho,

I know this is difficult for you to grasp. But you are wrong. Congress is not exempt from the ACA. They never were. You are horribly uninformed and unable to comprehend the words tht you read.

You are a stupid person. This is a lie that you believe because you desperately want it to be true. But..Congress is not exempt from the ACA and neither are the Congressional staffers.

You are being disingenuous....spinning the reality of the situation...and I have to wonder why you would do that.

True, they are not exempt from the ACA.

However, when it was realized by congress and their staffers that the cost of their insurance was going to go up substantially, they asked for an ADDITIONAL subsidy...of course at the cost of the taxpayer...

In the real world, that additional cost will be absorbed by the individual.

So explain to me...why are you OK with that?

No. You are wrong.

Prove it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

No. You are wrong.

Cool.

So there was nothing changed to accommodate the congress and their staffers.

You go ahead and believe that all you want.

This has been explained in this thread....by me and by Care4All....and in a half dozen links. Why should Congressional staffers be required to take a pay cut? That is what was going to happen. They simply fixed that. They are not getting special treatment....they escaped getting WORSE treatment.

******* duh!

Why shouldn't they get a pay cut?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

This has been explained in this thread....by me and by Care4All....and in a half dozen links. Why should Congressional staffers be required to take a pay cut? That is what was going to happen. They simply fixed that. They are not getting special treatment....they escaped getting WORSE treatment.

******* duh!

I will ask you again.

You are OK with that?

Most if not all employers are going to have their employees absorb that cost.....giving their employees a "pay cut" as you put it.

But congress decided they would not go to their employers (us).

Instead, they decided to ensure they don't get the "pay cut" like the rest of us.

and you are OK with that?

Last time.

The ACA mandates that any employer who employs 50 or more people will be required to provide health insurance coverage for their full time employees ( not spouses or families ) that costs the employee no more than 9.25% of their income.

If they do not, it will cost them 2000 per employee. A mandate which has already been delayed.

Now...of all the companies in America which employ more than 50 people...ONLY ONE PERCENT do not already offer insurance to their full time employees.

Do you understand what that means? It means that the law is only going to force a small percentage of LARGE employers to do something that they are not already doing.

Now...the US Government is considered a large employer and already offered health insurance to its employees. Due to a stupid amendment designed to cause trouble.......UNLIKE ALL OTHER LARGE EMPLOYERS, the US Government was mandated to drop their existing coverage and use the exchange plans. That stupid law did not include a provision for transferring the way it was paid for. That is what was fixed. No added benefit was proffered to the staffers.

No other company is going to be forced to use the exchange plans. They can, as Obama said, keep the insurance that they have. No impact at all.

Understand? Not only are these employees not exempt.....they are absolutely going on the exchange.

That is it.

This lie must die.

This thread is not about how stupid you are about the impact of Obamacare on most of the country, it is about the lie that Congresscritters are not getting special treatment.

 

[TemplarKormac]

Funny how LL says he hates congress, but loves defending them. What hoot and a holler!

 

[LoneLaugher]

Edgetho,

I know this is difficult for you to grasp. But you are wrong. Congress is not exempt from the ACA. They never were. You are horribly uninformed and unable to comprehend the words tht you read.

You are a stupid person. This is a lie that you believe because you desperately want it to be true. But..Congress is not exempt from the ACA and neither are the Congressional staffers.

You want to prove that you are right, find the part that allows employers to contribute to the cost of insurance in the exchange. Once you realize it doesn't exist, and that the only people in the entire country that get this benefit are congresscritters and their staff, come back and admit you are wrong.

Too stupid. You are too stupid.

No other employers MUST use the exchange. You are just too stupid.

 

[LoneLaugher]

Funny how LL says he hates congress, but loves defending them. What hoot and a holler!

Hey, Templar.....how's that?

I never made a comment about hating Congress. And I am not defending anyone here. I am exposing liars and idiots. You happen to be both.

How's the job hunt coming along?

And....didn't you just LOVE GT's take on the loser that is YOU?

 

[Lumpy 1]

Edgetho,

I know this is difficult for you to grasp. But you are wrong. Congress is not exempt from the ACA. They never were. You are horribly uninformed and unable to comprehend the words tht you read.

You are a stupid person. This is a lie that you believe because you desperately want it to be true. But..Congress is not exempt from the ACA and neither are the Congressional staffers.

You want to prove that you are right, find the part that allows employers to contribute to the cost of insurance in the exchange. Once you realize it doesn't exist, and that the only people in the entire country that get this benefit are congresscritters and their staff, come back and admit you are wrong.

Too stupid. You are too stupid.

No other employers MUST use the exchange. You are just too stupid.

You're big on name calling but low on common sense..

 

[LoneLaugher]

You want to prove that you are right, find the part that allows employers to contribute to the cost of insurance in the exchange. Once you realize it doesn't exist, and that the only people in the entire country that get this benefit are congresscritters and their staff, come back and admit you are wrong.

Too stupid. You are too stupid.

No other employers MUST use the exchange. You are just too stupid.

You're big on name calling but low on common sense..

Lumpy....

I know you are intelligent. Why are you pretending not to be intelligent in this thread? I don't know what else I can do. I have provided the facts.

It is a shame that ideology prevents even intelligent "conservatives" from dealing with facts.

Peace.

 

[Edgetho]

You are being disingenuous....spinning the reality of the situation...and I have to wonder why you would do that.

True, they are not exempt from the ACA.

However, when it was realized by congress and their staffers that the cost of their insurance was going to go up substantially, they asked for an ADDITIONAL subsidy...of course at the cost of the taxpayer...

In the real world, that additional cost will be absorbed by the individual.

So explain to me...why are you OK with that?

No. You are wrong.

Prove it.

It's not about money.

It's about lying.

It gets complicated and I don't fully understand the ACA myself. But the Exchanges are for Individuals

The Grassley amendment was improperly and hastily worded.

In their effort to lie to the Country, in their haste to lie to the Country, dimocraps voted for the Grassley Amendment without giving it much thought.

The exchanges are for individual policies, not for group policies. Therefore, the government couldn't be a participant in the Health Insurance plan. Neither can any other employer. Not how the exchanges role.

And when Congress realized what they had done, they didn't like it.

And I don't blame them too much. They stupidly voted away a lot of money for themselves because the Exchanges are for INDIVIDUALS and the SHOP program is for SMALL BUSINESSES, for which the Federal Government doesn't wualify.

So instead of saying, "er... uh, guys....? We fucked up. We didn't mean to vote all that money away" and then being up front, in the open and honest...

They did what dimocraps always do. What their instinct tell them to do....

They lied about it.

And then they got their butthole-buddies in the DISGUSTING FILTH of the LSM to lie about it.

And their idiot attack-yorkies on the internet to lie about it.

Congress is no better off than they were before the ACA passed. Not a bit. Not at all.

What pisses me off.... dimocraps lie.

They lie when there's no reason to lie and then DEMAND that you swallow the lie.... Or else.

Congress and their staffers got an exception. There's no loophole here, they got an exemption, a waiver.... Whatever you want to call it...

They got bailed out by the scumbag-in-chief.

Nobody denies that there was an OPM order to allow for participatory monies to be given to the exchanges.

Which is illegal and why they needed the Executive Branch to step in.

They could have voted themselves a raise and taken the money as an after-tax supplement.

But no, dimocraps gotta lie --About everything.

And so the exemption, the waiver, the whistle up their ass singing Dixie.

Whatever.

But it isn't about money. There's no money being made or lost here.

It's about how dimocraps are the lyingest motherfuckers the Earth has ever seen.

And it wasn't even necessary. All they had to do was be honest.

A foreign concept to dimocraps.

 

[Edgetho]

Too stupid. You are too stupid.

No other employers MUST use the exchange. You are just too stupid.

You're big on name calling but low on common sense..

Lumpy....

I know you are intelligent. Why are you pretending not to be intelligent in this thread? I don't know what else I can do. I have provided the facts.

It is a shame that ideology prevents even intelligent "conservatives" from dealing with facts.

Peace.

You are a stupid, closed minded shill.

The ACA exchanges are for Individuals.

There are Exchanges for Small Businesses but not for the government.

Congress fucked up and needed Executive intervention to fix the problem.

Congress could have voted themselves a raise to fix it, but that would have meant exposing themselves to ridicule. Which they richly deserve.

You are a truly stupid human being.

And I truly mean that.

Stupid beyond belief.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Edgetho,

I know this is difficult for you to grasp. But you are wrong. Congress is not exempt from the ACA. They never were. You are horribly uninformed and unable to comprehend the words tht you read.

You are a stupid person. This is a lie that you believe because you desperately want it to be true. But..Congress is not exempt from the ACA and neither are the Congressional staffers.

You want to prove that you are right, find the part that allows employers to contribute to the cost of insurance in the exchange. Once you realize it doesn't exist, and that the only people in the entire country that get this benefit are congresscritters and their staff, come back and admit you are wrong.

Too stupid. You are too stupid.

No other employers MUST use the exchange. You are just too stupid.

Does that mean you admit I am right, but want to pretend that it makes me stupid?

 

[Lumpy 1]

Too stupid. You are too stupid.

No other employers MUST use the exchange. You are just too stupid.

You're big on name calling but low on common sense..

Lumpy....

I know you are intelligent. Why are you pretending not to be intelligent in this thread? I don't know what else I can do. I have provided the facts.

It is a shame that ideology prevents even intelligent "conservatives" from dealing with facts.

Peace.

..You actually haven't absorbed all the facts but if you can, try again...