Washington, D.C. – Late last week, the Heritage Foundation released a paper supporting Senator Johnson’s lawsuit regarding the congressional health care exemption. Senator Johnson made the following remarks regarding the paper.

“Last week, the Heritage Foundation issued a paper outlining the legal merits of a suit against the congressional health care exemption the Obama administration’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) implemented in October. Specifically, OPM determined that – unlike the millions who have lost their health coverage due to Obamacare and must now purchase insurance through an exchange – members of Congress and their staff participating in the exchange could continue to receive a tax-advantaged employer contribution.

“During my lifetime, I have witnessed a worsening erosion of the delicate balance between our three branches of government. Our constitutional framework was designed to limit the power of the federal government by having each branch serve as a necessary check on the other two. In January, I initiated a lawsuit against OPM to uphold the rule of law.

“The Heritage paper concludes, ‘The recent OPM final rule to provide subsidies to Members of Congress and their staff contradicts the plain language of both the FEHB Program statute and Obamacare. Representatives who object to having to deviate from the express statutory language in order to provide health coverage for their families and themselves, such as Senator Ron Johnson, should investigate this matter further, and Members of Congress and their staff can and should sue if and when they are injured by this unlawful scheme.’

“I believe it is wrong that the political class gets special treatment that no other American forced onto Obamacare gets in the individual market -- a pre-tax employer contribution. I also believe President Obama's administration illegally violated the will and intent of Congress in carrying out this rule. Despite making 20 unilateral delays and alterations to Obamacare since its implementation, the president has no authority to change the law.”

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