Rep. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) introduced new legislation on Tuesday that would prevent the federal government from helping to pay for the health insurance for members of Congress and their staff, Cotton announced on Tuesday.
Obamacare requires representatives, senators, and their staff members to purchase health insurance on the exchanges. However, it does not explicitly allow the government to help pay for the plans, as most employers do now.
Employers cannot directly help employees buy health insurance on the exchanges under the law, as the exchanges are intended for people who are buying insurance on their own.
The administration released a regulation allowing the Office of Personnel Management to contribute directly to people’s insurance costs as they do now. Cotton’s bill, named the "No Special Deal for D.C. Insiders Act," prevents the federal government from doing this.
"Without legal authority, President Obama plans to give subsidies to political insiders that aren’t available to any other American," Cotton said in the statement.
The bill comes after Cotton wrote to the administration in August arguing that the proposed subsidy is illegal under the Affordable Care Act.
The provision in the law and its complications first surfaced in July, and the New York Times reported on it shortly thereafter.