{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141114185953/http://www.vitter.senate.gov/newsroom/press/vitter-house-continues-washington-exemption-from-obamacare", "Vitter: House Continues Washington Exemption from Obamacare", "2014-11-14", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "LA", "David Vitter", "V000127", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Vitter: House Continues Washington Exemption from Obamacare\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFriday, November 14, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 U.S. Sen. David Vitter issued the following statement today expressing disappointment in the House of Representatives vote to protect Washington\u2019s Exemption from Obamacare. Congressman Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) proposed a rule for the House Republican Conference that would have required all members and staff to be enrolled in Obamacare as the law states. Some members created a loophole and designated their staff as \u201cnon-official\u201d so they could be exempted from entering the Obamacare Exchange.\n\u201cIn this election, Americans across the country sent a message: Washington is out of touch and on the wrong track. The House of Representatives had an opportunity to change course today, but instead they protected their exemption under Obamacare,\u201d Vitter said. \u201cCongress gave America Obamacare, and Congress needs to face reality and experience this train-wreck law in the exact same way their constituents do. I\u2019m going to continue fighting to make sure Washington is treated the same way as the constituents they represent by getting rid of Washington\u2019s exemption from Obamacare.\u201d\nThe proposed rule would state that all staff is recognized as \u201cofficial\u201d under Obamacare, which would require them to purchase health insurance on the Obamacare Exchange. Vitter has introduced a Conference Resolution in the Senate that requires all Members to designate all staff as official.\nVitter has introduced legislation that would require all Members of Congress, all Congressional staff, the President, Vice-President, and all political appointees within the administration to purchase their health insurance on the Obamacare Exchange and receive the same amount of financial support from tax credits or subsidies as any American would outside of Washington. Vitter has also designated all of his staff, including committee staff, as official as the law requires.\nLast fall Vitter fought to get a vote on his legislation, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blocked his attempts. Vitter also introduced his legislation in April, but Reid pulled the legislation from the floor before it could get a vote. However, Reid did agree to give Vitter a vote in the future. Click here to read some of Vitter\u2019s efforts to pass his \u201cNo Washington Exemption from Obamacare.\u201d\nCurrently members of Congress and their staff members are still eligible to receive taxpayer funded subsidies ($5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for a family) to pay for their health care. Those same subsidies are not available to any other American.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141114185953/http://www.vitter.senate.gov/newsroom/press/vitter-house-continues-washington-exemption-from-obamacare"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0292907245457172, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}