Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06) today held a press conference with Sen. David Vitter (LA) to introduce the James Madison Congressional Accountability Act. This legislation will block a proposed administrative rule by the Office of Personnel Management that purports to offer ObamaCare subsidies for Members of Congress and congressional staff not authorized by law and not available to the rest of the American people. As the House companion bill to Senators David Vitter (LA) and Mike Enzi's (WY) Senate legislation, this bill will require members of Congress, all congressional staff, the President, Vice President, and political appointees to enroll in the ObamaCare health care exchanges while explicitly limiting subsidies to those available to the public at large.
"The Obama administration's decision to bail out members of Congress from the effects of ObamaCare is a classic example of the political class putting itself before the interests of the American people," Rep. DeSantis said. "By ramming through this ill-considered law, Members of Congress and the Administration have imposed significant burdens on Americans from all walks of life and should not be protected from its negative effects. This legislation blows the whistle on this all-too-familiar Washington game of putting the ruling class first."
Rep. DeSantis is joined in introducing the James Madison Congressional Accountability Act by lead cosponsor Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-15) as well as cosponsors Reps. Tom Cotton (AR-04), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Phil Gingrey (GA-11), Jim Jordan (OH-04), Robert Latta (OH-05), Thomas Massie (KY-04), Mick Mulvaney (SC-05), Keith Rothfus (PA-12), Matt Salmon (AZ-05), Mark Sanford (SC-01), Jason Smith (MO-08), Lynn Westmoreland (GA-3), and Ted Yoho (FL-03).
The James Madison Congressional Accountability Act is part of an ongoing effort by Rep. DeSantis to restore the founding principles of representational government to Washington, DC. Rep. DeSantis previously proposed a 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution that will ensure Congress is held accountable for the laws they pass as well as bipartisan legislation to sequester congressional pay.