Some Republican colleagues of Louisiana Sen. David Vitter say his perpetual push to get rid of federal healthcare subsidies for lawmakers and their staffs is rooted in his desire to get elected as the Bayou State’s next governor, according to
Politico.
The second-term senator, who’s running for governor, is a vocal opponent of Congress receiving their health insurance through Washington's small-business exchange, which grants them an employer contribution to their healthcare, the
National Journal reported last month.
Vitter’s characterization of the benefit — worth several thousand dollars — as a perk and sweetheart deal is a public relations maneuver for his gubernatorial bid, an unnamed senior Republican senator told Politico.
"We all know why David’s doing this," the senator told the website.
Vitter has co-sponsored legislation that would require all members of Congress, as well as the president, vice president, and all political appointees, to purchase their health insurance on the Obamacare Exchange without the help of taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Last month, he was met with fierce resistance from some members of his own party who sit on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, which Vitter chairs, when he attempted to subpoena documents to find out how members of Congress and their aides are eligible for healthcare subsidies under Obamacare.
Five Republicans — Sens. James Risch, Rand Paul, Deb Fischer, Kelly Ayotte, and Mike Enzi — helped block the measure by voting against it, according to the Journal.
The tally was 5-14, far short of the 10 Republican votes needed by Vitter to issue the subpoenas, which ask for "nine unredacted pages of applications that the Senate and the House submitted to the D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority to allow members and staff to receive health insurance through the small-business marketplace."
Vitter "has emerged as one of the most disliked members" of the Senate, according to Politico, crediting his unrelenting fight to toss lawmakers' Obamacare subsidies combined with his insatiable thirst for self-promotion.
He has become notorious for "speeding in and out of meetings, railing about issues on the Senate floor but doing little to execute behind the scenes, firing off news releases left and right," according to the website.
"In an institution in which the inside game is critical, Vitter doesn’t even pretend to bother with it."
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