Should members of Congress and their staffs receive an exemption from some of the financial obligations of Obamacare? That is a question that has been

debated since the announcement last week.

The Affordable Care Act requires members of Congress and their staffs to participate in the insurance exchanges. There is history for such a requirement.

Former President Harry Truman enrolled as the first Medicare beneficiary in 1965. That is why Senator Chuck Grassley proposed an amendment that would

require most members of Congress to participate. I say “most” because some of the Congressional leadership is excluded from participation.

For months members of Congress have complained that when they and their staff enroll, they will lose the generous coverage they received from the Federal

Employees Health Benefits Program. They complained that it would drive talented staffers away and projected a significant “brain drain” unless something was

changed.

On my radio program I asked this simple question. If Obamacare would cause a “brain drain” in a public sector, wouldn’t it also have the same effect on the

private sector? Put another way, if it was going to have an adverse impact on Congress, wouldn’t it also have an adverse impact on businesses and

corporations?

Members of Congress begged the White House for relief and received it. The Office of Personnel Management announced that Congress and their staffs would

receive extra payments, which could amount to as much as 75 percent of the cost of insurance.

The announcement generated two types of complaints. First, there is a legal question. Does the Office of Personnel Management have the authority to do this?

That debate will continue for quite some time. The second is likely to last all the way to next year’s elections. Isn’t this one more example of the political class

requiring us to live by one set of rules while they live by a different set of rules? The voters next year might not take kindly to Congress once again making

itself a privileged class.