New documents trigger questions about special treatment for Congress under Obamacare

The application that members of Congress and their aides were asked to fill out in November 2013 for health insurance had them attest to several questions they could not answer accurately, according to documents from the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act. They had to attest that they had fewer than 45 members and 45 employees, even though Congress has 535 members overall and employs thousands of staffers.

The document also asked applicants to check a box attesting that they employ 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees. As “employer type” they selected “State or Local Government,” and wrote in “U.S. House of Representatives” or “U.S. Senate” rather than their names, provided dates of birth that cannot be verified with a specific name and had to attest they didn’t have any dependents.

At the end of the application they were prompted to type in an electronic signature next to the statement, “I’ve provided true and correct answers to the questions on this form to the best of my knowledge. I know that if I’m not truthful there may be a penalty.”