Practice what you Preach

Readers of this blog know that I can be critical  of the representatives of my home state, Iowa. But, this week I'm quite proud of my Senator Chuck Grassley, not for any specific action taken this week, rather for an amendment to a bill he presented years ago during the now infamous Affordable Care Act debate.

The Grassley Amendment in the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) legislation that ensured that the government could not offer members of the House and Senate and their staffs any insurance plans but those created by the bill or those that were part of the exchanges set up in association with it. A simple exercise in practicing what you preach. If Congress, acting at the behest of President Obama, was going to shove this unpopular idea down the throats of an unwilling nation, those involved in making the law were going to have to live with it the same as the rest of the country. Fast forward three years later when there are only six months remaining before this provision goes into effect, it appears a new bipartisan consensus has emerged in  Congress, I'll pause here for you to get back up in your chair after being blown away by that little factoid... good? OK. It appears that nobody in Congress wants any part in participating in the nationally mandated program

Though Democrats have berated the House Republicans over more than a few dozen attempts to repeal the act,many in Washington view the impending deadline with horror since the prospect of being forced into ObamaCare insurance has set off a mass exodus of members and their senior staffs who would rather retire and stay grandfathered into their current insurance programs, touted as being very nice, then be submitted to the same type of rules and regulations that you and I are subject to. As Politico reports, there could be a surge in resignations before December 31 among congressional staff since doing so will allow representatives, senators and other congressional employees to retain their old federal insurance plans.

This has led the same Democrats who pushed for the passage of ObamaCare to demand that it be changed to let the inhabitants of Capitol Hill off the hook, one such outspoken person was John Larson of Connecticut who seems quite confident that an arrangement will be made to suit their own specific needs and wants without it effecting anyone else who may want the same considerations. But even though Republicans have just as much incentive to want to amend the bill to save their own members and their staffs, their answer should be no. If Congress doesn't want to cope with the far higher costs and poorer coverage that ObamaCare will ensure, they can scrap the entire bill rather than just adding a single paragraph to the already  it to suit their own interests.

If a Democratic like Connecticut’s John Larson, who voted for the legislation probably without reading it, thinks it’s unfair to expect his employees to be put in the same boat as his constituents, then maybe he should rethink the entire measure that he played a pivotal role in passing when his party controlled Congress.

Most Americans, who already think about as much of Congress as a vegan thinks of McDonalds, will shed few tears for the travails of these servants of the masses. Nor will they think the exodus of said members and staff will do the country much harm. But, to be fair, if the kind of turnover really does take place, a void of experienced staffers and veteran politicians could make Capitol Hill an even more dysfunctional place than it already has become. Losing their staffs (who provide much of the expertise and institutional memory of this branch of government) may be a disaster, but Congress must suffer along with the rest of us if they are to retain even a shred of credibility.