Republican Presidential candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker gave his outsider image a boost on Tuesday when he promised to close a legal loophole that doesn’t exist.
While unveiling his alternative to Obamacare in Minnesota, Walker said he would prod the legislative branch to repeal the landmark law by ordering the removal of a Congressional exemption that has been repeatedly described as fictitious by non-partisan fact-checkers.
“On my very first day, I will issue an executive order that will pull back on the special deal President Obama provided for Congress,” he said. “They kinda got pulled out of this like they often exempt themselves out of other things when it comes to other laws out there”
“We’re gonna do an executive deal that gets rid of the deal President Obama put in place, the special deal for Congress,” Walker went on to explain, “to make them live under the same conditions.”
“I think once they’re susceptible to the Obamacare premium increases that so many Americans have been under the last few years,” he continued, “I have a pretty good idea that’s gonna light a fire under Congress to get things moving right away.”
“They’re gonna have to live under the same rules as everyone else in America moving forward,” Walker also stated.
Politifact in early 2013 described the claim–that the Affordable Care Act does not apply to federal lawmakers–as a “cynically inaccurate” charge originating about 15 years ago from a chain email on Constitutional powers.
Snopes.com noted that, under Obamacare, legislators are forced to purchase health insurance through online exchanges established by ACA.
An Office of Personnel Management rule proposal on subsidies afforded to all federal workers issued in August 2013 has been falsely portrayed by many conservatives as a Congressional loophole, the rumor verification website also stated.
“Since 2010, we’ve been debunking the persistent claim that members of Congress are somehow exempt from the law,” FactCheck.org noted in September 2013. “They’re not.”
On Monday, Walker flouted his outsider credentials in a broad attack on Washington.
He criticized Republican leaders in Congress for not repealing Obamacare after winning the Senate, despite the fact that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is not operating with the supermajority required to reliably overcome filibusters in votes split along party lines.
Walker has said he would support a move to abolish the filibuster to get an ACA repeal through the Senate–a policy that has been criticized by prominent conservatives, including Walker’s presidential primary opponent, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
