The Key ObamaCare Provision No One Understands

IBD's Capital Hill ^ | 5/3/2011 | Jed Graham

[Slyscribe]

A funny thing happened on the way to trying to figure out when a cost-control provision of the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) would be triggered.

I discovered that virtually no one understands what the law means or how premium subsidies will grow over time — and it’s a near certainty that the confusion extends to the members of Congress who voted for it.

Clearly, very few people are aware that Democrats tucked a cost-control provision into the final reconciliation act that would gradually shift a greater burden of premium payments to individuals.

[DManA]

Pelosi wasn’t just being stupid when she said we had to pass the bill to see what’s in it. They deliberately wrote it so that a whole raft of new bureaucracies would invent it as they went along.

[Jacquerie]

Just a few knew what was in the bill and they weren't even Pelosi or Reid or Obama. I think a small cadre of trusted leftist staffers in the House, Senate, White House wrote the bill and amended it down to the moment it was passed by a majority of 535 men and women who never read it.

We slipped into outright tyranny with Obamacare.

[hal ogen]

Are the names of those apparently anonymous staffers published anywhere? When the accounting comes, that would be useful. There surely is room in Leavenworth for them...or in some SuperMax prison.

[Reddy]

Every time there is a new revelation about some ghastly provision in the zerocare bill, I remember Pillosi making the, “We have to pass it to find out what is in it.” statement and get more angry. That our congress voted for this monstrosity without knowing what was in it makes it more than wrong, more than criminal, it makes it evil.

[TheOldLady]

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[IIntense]

...names of those anonymous staffers published anywhere?

Regardless of who read or didn't read the obamacare bill, anyone who voted for it should be kicked out of D.C. on their disloyal derrieres.

[supercat]

If I had my druthers, before any bill could go up for vote, a digital signed copy would be made available to every congresscritter, who would have a chance to digitally compare it to any previous versions and make sure it didn't have anything unexpected added to it. With all the legislative games that are played, how can anyone possibly know what is actually in legislation when it's voted upon (or what was in past legislation when it was voted upon)? If the person printing up the Congressional Record were to slip in some new language after the vote, how would anyone in Congress be able to prove it?

Incidentally, if I had my druthers, I'd also add a rule that would keep aye/nay votes secret until the close of voting. A common maneuver is for congresscritters who support unpopular legislation to vote in favor of it only when their vote is "needed". If a few politicians declined to say how they'd vote, the dishonest ones wouldn't know when their vote was "needed", and would thus have to risk either voting against legislation they favor which could have passed, or voting "needlessly" in favor of unpopular legislation and thus showing their constituents their real agenda.

[hal ogen]

I agree about voting the politician bums out who voted for this worthless bill; however, there should be accounting by the nefarious-unnamed who insidiously undermine Free America. Names ARE needed. If not, they will remain in the system to destroy and undermine freedom.

[scrabblehack]

I recall there being a proposal that all edits to any bill had to be logged and signed so that anyone could know who made the edit.