The Obama administration allegedly took conscious actions to sidestep Congress and funnel billions of dollars into the Affordable Care Act's cost sharing reduction program, according to report released Thursday by House Republicans.
"An abuse of power at the highest levels is underway, and it must stop," Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a joint statement.
Here are seven things to know about the report and its findings.
1. Dubbed "The Joint Congressional Investigative Report into the Source of Funding for the ACA's Cost Sharing Reduction Program," the 158-page report is the product of 18 months of investigation. At issue in the report is the constitutionality of the $7 billion in funding that has been spent on the cost sharing reduction program, which gives eligible ACA insurance enrollees payments to offset the cost of deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. Republicans say the provision requires a congressional appropriation and allege memoranda and actions taken by the federal government indicate the administration knew this was required.
2. The two House committees that led the investigation — the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee — are holding hearings Thursday and Friday with regards to the findings. Both committees will hear witnesses, have the opportunity to discuss the investigation with officials and experts and ask questions, according to the House. There will also be opportunity to discuss the impacts of funding the cost sharing reduction program.
3. As evidence the payments were unconstitutionally funded, the report points to a 2012 decision by the Treasury Department that a permanent appropriation could not be used for the cost sharing reductions. At this time, the administration created an allocation account structure to permanently pay for the ACA's premium tax credits, which both parties agree was included in the law and therefore constitutional.
4. The report also highlights "an unusual move" by the administration to withdraw an appropriation request made to the Senate for the cost sharing reduction program. The investigation says President Barack Obama did not formally withdraw his request, and instead the administration withdrew it over the phone. In the Supreme Court case House v. Burwell, the federal government said it withdrew the request because it realized existing principles of appropriations law made it unnecessary.
5. The report claims the Office of Management and Budget "surreptitiously raided" the permanent appropriation made for the premium tax credits to pay for the cost sharing reduction program. The report says OMB drafted a memo that explained the legal analysis and justification for funding the program, which some IRS officials allegedly had concerns about. The Treasury Secretary approved the memo, giving the IRS the authority to fund the cost sharing reduction program in the same way it funded the premium tax credits, according to the report.
6. Lastly, the report alleges "unprecedented obstruction" by the administration to the committees during the investigation. It cites a failure to comply with subpoenas, failure to provide deposition subpoenas in a timely fashion and leading witnesses to not reveal names of officials involved in decisions about program funding. The report also claims the administration did not have the privilege to withhold information from Congress in these instances.
7. The White House and Democrats in Congress say the report is an attempt to undermine the ACA, according to The New York Times. Some of these officials, who say the issue is simply one of legislative interpretation, will testify before the committees, according to the report. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell declined to testify, according to the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Read the full House report here.
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