Trump Threatens Congressional Health Insurance Benefits

[SummerSnow]

Tweet may be prelude to rescinding employer contribution for members

President Donald Trump is considering stripping the employer contribution for health insurance away from members of Congress.

While the Trump White House has previously declined numerous requests from Roll Call to weigh in on the possibility, the president took to his favorite social media platform Saturday to make the threat himself.

“If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly,” Trump tweeted. “BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!”

http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/trump-threatens-congressional-health-insurance-benefits

* you cannot make this stuff up

What is he going to do, sign an executive order? lol

[busterbrown]

1. OOOOOOOOOOOH BABY

Loving IT!

[trueblue2007]

2. Trump DOESN'T HAVE THE POWER TO DO THAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's a loser.

[SummerSnow]

3. He thinks he is Henry the 8th.Watched too many episodes

of the Tudors.

[madaboutharry]

4. Where I come from

that was called a Shakedown.

He is a mobster.

[SCantiGOP]

5. He clearly doesn't understand

the separation of powers. Or anything else that has to do with governing.
Right now all he is trying to do is stroke that hard-core 35% who will support him no matter what simply because the other party is the party of gays, minorities, secular people, poor people, intellectuals, etc etc - everything that scares them.

[charlyvi]

6. Someone needs to explain the concept of

Co-equal branches of government to Trump*; to members of Congress as well, especially the House.

[Iliyah]

7. The founding fathers knew . . . thank gawd . . .

Although GOPers don't mind destroying democracy tho.

[pbmus]

8. These marching orders come from the kochtopussy

[MichMan]

9. Apparently some DU'ers agree with Trump

It appears that many agree with Trump on this. Over 1 million signatures by progressives

Does that make them supporters?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029389263

https://www.change.org/p/remove-health-care-subsidies-for-members-of-congress-and-their-families?recruiter=275115776&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=des-lg-share_petition-no_msg

[Igel]

10. My whole 2 minutes research says I think he could do it.

http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/reid-says-issue-with-health-care-for-lawmakers-staff-is-resolved

Congress created a problem without a solution in the law. Obama's Office of Personnel and Management produced a kludge. An ad hoc regulation without the need for public comment or Congressional review that fixed a problem.

Basically, OPM needed to determine that the federal government could help pay the cost of premiums on the exchanges for congressional employees.

A White House official confirmed to CQ Roll Call that OPM will issue the new regulation next week, and in turn lawmakers and aides will not be eligible for the law's tax credits and subsidies to buy insurance. Members of both parties had asked the administration to step in and clarify that staff was still eligible for employer contributions, fearing an exodus of talent. And enacting a legislative fix would have been messy to say the least given the partisan divide over the law itself.

If it took a couple of weeks to figure out, write, review, and issue the regulation, all that needs to happen is for the OPM to rescind the rule. An EO could do it, I'd guess, but it's overkill.

All the talk of "he doesn't have the authority" and "separation of powers" just means they don't see what's going on.

(Actually, that's really just "don't see what's going on if this guess is right." http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/trump-threatens-congressional-health-insurance-benefits is the source of the guess.

(But to be quite honest, I don't see a really solid reason to think that the bailout for insurance companies, almost certainly healthcare related, has to be the same sort of critter as the bailout for Congress. It wouldn't be out of keeping for him to refer to healthcare insurance-company funding and bailouts in the form of, oh, finger food and an open bar at the next Congressional meeting. But Roll Call had to say something that seemed pertinent to keep up clicks.)