Free Republic

One fellow senator calls David Vitter’s years-long crusade to scrap health care subsidies for lawmakers and their staffers “disingenuous.” Another says it’s obviously being done “for political purposes.” “I just don’t think he’s made a lot of progress on this issue,” a third senator says. And those are just fellow Republicans talking. Within the chummy confines of the U.S. Senate, Vitter has emerged as one of the most disliked members. The second-term senator’s effort to kill the federal health care contribution, worth several thousand dollars to lawmakers and their staffers, is a big part of it.

The Obama administration on Tuesday will publish a proposed rule that would give thousands of temporary and seasonal government workers access to the government’s health care program, even though current law would appear to prohibit them from using that program. The rule from the Office of Personnel Management would let these federal workers sign up for coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and also allow some of them to enjoy a government contribution to their insurance premiums. Both steps would be done through OPM’s proposed regulation, and not through an act of Congress. The proposed rule indicates that...

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's eyes sparkled Monday as he stood in the U.S. Capitol holding the three books that contain the 2,054 pages of nationwide rules and regulations for Medicare in one hand and the 64-page pamphlet that encompasses all of the rules for the Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) plan in the other. "This is the FEHB plan, which gives you, I think, 85 choices around the country. This is Medicare," Gingrich said, comparing the two. "You don't have to be an Ayn Rand libertarian to say, almost automatically, this [FEHB] is smart, this...