WASHINGTON, DC - The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), today held a hearing examining the implications of the Obama administration’s decision to unlawfully fund Obamacare’s cost sharing reduction (CSR) program. The program was the focus of a joint report issued by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday.
Despite never getting an appropriation for the payments in the CSR program, the administration has issued more than $7 billion in unlawful payments. The two committees began investigating the source of funding for the CSR program in February 2015. Over the course of the investigation, each committee has issued subpoenas to HHS, Treasury, and OMB for documents. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Burwell, or a designee of her choosing, were invited to testify and refused.
Doug Badger, Senior Fellow at the Galen Institute, testified, “Implementation of the cost-sharing reduction program has been irresponsible, unaccountable, and at its heart, unlawful. … The Administration’s behavior raises concerns that transcend the fractious politics of Obamacare. They are institutional and constitutional in nature. Institutional because Congress’s core function is being effaced. Constitutional because its power of the purse is under legal assault."
Thomas P. Miller, J.D., Resident Fellow in Health Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, discussed the importance of integrity when governing, stating, “Trust in the basic integrity of our government institutions and their adherence to the rule of law is a key foundation of democratic accountability, civil discourse, and economic progress. If we are ever going to reduce the partisan rancor and operational gridlock in remedying the long list of dysfunctional components of the ACA, taking illegal shortcuts and making expedient administrative revisions in the law must be replaced by making a more persuasive case for legislative changes underlying the statute."
Morton Rosenberg, a Legislative Consultant, spoke about the irrelevance of a concurrent investigation and litigation, opposite of the argument being made by the administration, stating, “Treasury and the Justice Department have characterized the pending House legal challenge to the alleged use of unappropriated funds to support the ACA as ‘extraordinary’… The Supreme Court, however has long held that congressional inquiries cannot be thwarted by ongoing litigation that may parallel its proceeding."
“Folks back home in Michigan and everywhere else deserve to know how the government is spending their hard-earned tax dollars - and we are talking billions in this instance," stated full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI). “The Obama administration has gone to great lengths to prop up his health law. The administration won’t give Congress the documents and testimony needed to fully understand how they came to the decisions they’ve made to fund this program. Without access to information from the executive branch, we cannot conduct effective oversight. Without effective oversight, we can’t protect the public’s interest."
“From the outset, the administration has refused to cooperate with the committees’ investigation. Despite the Administration’s relentless efforts to obstruct our necessary investigation, we were able to shed some light on the administration’s decision. Our report makes clear that the Executive branch has gone to great lengths to keep information about the cost sharing reduction program from Congress, and therefore the American people," concluded Chairman Murphy. “The Constitution clearly states that the power of the purse lies not with the Executive, but with Congress. This provides an important check on the Executive branch."
To access a copy of the joint report, click here. Related Items
* The ACA’s Cost Sharing Reduction Program: Ramifications of the Administration’s Decision on the Source of Funding for the CSR Program
* HEARING: #SubOversight to Examine the Implications of Obamacare’s Cost Sharing Reduction Program NEXT WEEK
* E&C, W&M Showcase Unprecedented Abuse of Power, Continue to Search for Facts on Illegal Obamacare Spending
