I get AFA Action Alerts in my inbox — and this one caught my eye as having a really good idea nestled in it:
Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) offered an amendment in the Ways & Means Committee that would have required Members of Congress to enroll immediately in the government-run health plan that would be established under the Democratic bill. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) offered an amendment to put his committee on the record in support of enrolling Members of Congress in the government-run plan as well. While the Wilson amendment was approved by voice vote in the Education & Labor Committee, the Heller amendment was killed in the Ways & Means Committee at the behest of Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Rangel.
Brilliant! Yes, I am all in favor of requiring Congress to use whatever system is settled upon. Granted, most of them are independently wealthy and could probably pay out of pocket for their health care needs. But the idea of Congresscritters dictating to the American public what sort of health care plan they “need” or can “afford” whilst basking in their own gold-plated government-provided health care plan, is absurd.
It cuts both ways. I’m sure the Wildmon and the Right are thinking that such an amendment would kill any Awful Government DMV-Style Bureaucracy Killing Our Elders And Using The Money To Pay For Abortions. To my mind, though, it would ensure that all of those provisions that progressives have been pushing for — portability, no pre-existing condition exclusions, universal basic care, and, yes, a “robust public option” — would almost certainly be in there if Congress had to personally live with its own choices.
Pretty to think so, at least. I’m sure it will never happen. Whatever comes out of the health care reform, you can rest easy that Congress will continue to enjoy first-rate coverage … for itself.
This has been a standard issue talking point of the Tea-bagging brigade since, well, 1993, even before there were people who were willing to stand up in public and declare themselves proud to be Tea-baggers.
Somewhere down the Memory Hole I remember seeing a vid of some folks confronting Barnie Franks about this, and his response was that he wanted to make sure every american had the same health care that congress has, since it would be cheaper then what we have now, but that the GOP and the Blue Dogs didn’t want the Citizens of the US to have it.