A Wisconsin senator says that it is a basic issue of fairness regarding a lawsuit he filed in January. Senator Ron Johnson discussed the lawsuit against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with WRJC on Monday morning. In the lawsuit, Johnson is arguing against a rule by the Obama administration allowing the federal government to subsidize health insurance for lawmakers and some congressional staffers in the Affordable Care Act. “I’m not opposed to employer contributions, I did it for 31 years, but the law explicitly stated and Congress voted that there would be no employer contribution. But yet, this president went and changed the law through his agencies,” said Johnson.
The opposition of the lawsuit, however, calls it frivolous and a political stunt. In an statement, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross is asking where the money is coming from to fund the lawsuit. “Sen. Johnson’s rabid opposition to helping people get life-saving health care and stopping insurance industry abuses like denying coverage raises questions about his judgments,” said Ross. “The fact that he is using the lawsuit as a fundraising ploy for his campaign, yet discloses no campaign expenditures, and is utilizing the services of a tax-exempt organization also raises questions of ethics and legality.”
45 Republican lawmakers in both the House of Representative and the Senate have announced their support of the lawsuit. Johnson says that there is nothing in the constitution that allows President Obama “to enact, amend, or repeal laws” and this lawsuit highlights that.