Conservative groups renew pressure on ‘ObamaCare exemption’

by Sarah Ferris - 05/13/15 6:00 AM ET

A coalition of conservative groups want to make sure Congressional Republicans don’t let up on the fight to eliminate what they call D.C.’s exemption from ObamaCare.

Heritage Action for America and Club for Growth are among a half-dozen groups that have joined a campaign called the “No D.C. Exemption,” according to a release shared first with The Hill. The effort is spearheaded by the right-leaning organization, the U.S. Health Freedom Caucus.

The groups are looking to drive up support for a two-year-long investigation into how members of Congress pay for ObamaCare, which has been led almost single-handedly by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).

{mosads}Vitter has repeatedly accused congressional staffers of falsifying documents to allow members of Congress and their staff to receive subsidized insurance.

“Our goal is to educate the public about the ObamaCare exemption and rally them in whatever is the best way to put pressure on members of Congress to support Vitter,” said Nachama Soloveichik, a spokeswoman for the group.

The group was formed two weeks after Vitter’s panel — the Senate’s Small Business Committee — denied his request to subpoena documents related to the investigation.

Vitter was demanding un-redacted copies of health insurance applications used by members of Congress to enroll in the small-business exchange, which he said would prove that some offices had evaded ObamaCare rules.

The push by the Louisiana senator, who is running for governor, was also the subject of a scathing report by Politico on Tuesday, which quoted multiple Republicans condemning his relentless crusade as a political ploy.

Both Soloveichik and Vitter’s spokesperson said the group launched entirely independently from the senator.

“The group is launching the website on their own, but we’ve been working with a number of organizations explaining the Obamacare Exemption for Congress and how the fraudulent application was approved,” a spokeswoman for Vitter’s office wrote in an email.

Tags David Vitter