Fox News seems either not to know or not to care that Republican charges that Congress receives “special subsidies” for Obamacare (that regular folks don’t) is a lie. Yet not only was Senator David Vitter (R-LA) allowed to propagate it on Your World two days ago, host Stuart Varney spouted the same falsehood in agreement.
Here’s what NewsHound Ellen wrote when Sean Hannity tried to make a $10,000 bet after Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell debunked the lie (and, sadly, refused to take the bet):
From an August 30, 2013 FactCheck.org article… called, No ‘Special Subsidy’ for Congress debunking a similar claim by Republican Congressman Robert Pittenger.
(L)awmakers and their staffs face additional requirements that other Americans don’t. And the “special subsidy” to which Pittenger refers is simply a premium contribution that his employer, the federal government, has long made to the health insurance policies of its workers.
The Affordable Care Act says that starting in 2014, members of Congress and their staffs can no longer get their health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, as they have in the past. Instead, these federal employees will have to get insurance through the exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act. Other Americans with work-based insurance aren’t subject to such a requirement. They can continue to get health insurance through their employers. Other federal workers, too, can continue to select health insurance plans through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. But not Congress.
…Our readers may recall that before this provision was created, there were claims circulating that Congress was “exempt” from the law. This twisted reading of the legislation was based on the fact that originally Congress, like other Americans with work-based insurance or Americans on Medicare and Medicaid, wouldn’t be eligible for the exchanges. In other words, Congress was supposedly “exempt” when members couldn’t participate in the exchanges, and now that they are required to do so, they’re still somehow “exempt” from the law. Neither of these convoluted claims is true.
Yet both Varney and Vitter expressed surprise that “health subsidies for lawmakers” had not been part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown. And, of course, they used it to smear President Obama.
Varney said, “I am surprised at the intensity of the opposition to this. The President threatening a veto?”
Vitter replied, “It really says a lot how dug in these Washington types are to protect their personal benefits, their personal subsidy, and for the President to personally talk about a veto threat specifically over this issue is sort of amazing.”
Varney even pretended – or ignorantly asserted – that Congress is somehow exempt from Obamacare. He said to Vitter, “But it is strange sir. I mean you would’ve thought that by having everybody included in Obamacare, ‘Yeah, we’re right there with the people of America.’ Wouldn’t that have been really good publicity? Good PR, and they totally rejected it, I’m surprised.”
Vitter – who, as a member of Congress, ought to know better - piled on. He said, “The message they’re sending instead is sort of like the restaurant where the chef never eats there and won’t eat there.”
“Can you explain why they’re fighting so hard against this?” Varney asked.
Vitter answered, “Because it’s a big subsidy, and it’s money in the pockets of Congress, staff, and administration officials, and they don’t want to give it up. Look, it should be the first rule of American democracy that Washington lives by the same rule as America, operates in the same way, and that’s what my language would ensure.”
Vitter vowed, “I’m going to keep fighting for a vote… And I’m going to get a vote.”
Even if Varney didn’t know about the Congressional requirements before he did the segment, he should have done some independent research rather than relying on a partisan Senator as the only source of information for the discussion. It’s a habitual technique of Fox News that allows Republican spin to stand unchallenged and accepted as truth. And in this case, with a big assist from the host.