The claim: Congressional Democrats will not support amendments mandating that members of Congress and their staffers leave their current health plans for the proposed public option.
The source: On Aug. 9, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich stated on ABC’s “This Week” that Democrats voted down amendments “to have the members of Congress and their staff in any government option as a mandate.”
The status: A proposed amendment in the House Ways and Means Committee to mandate that members of Congress participate in a government-run plan was defeated 18-21 on July 16, with 21 of the 26 Democrats on the committee voting against it, according to .
A similar amendment in the House Energy and Commerce Committee was not voted on.
Ways and Means did pass a non- binding resolution saying members who vote for the public plan should leave their current plan for the public one.
On July 14, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee decided to require all members of Congress to enroll in the public plan. It passed 12-11, with nine Democrats voting against it.
The verdict: rated Gingrich’s statement “Mostly True.” Democrats have generally voted against committee proposals that mandate congressional participation in a public health care option.
Sources: ABC News, and Denver Post archives. Compiled by Denver Post researcher Barry Osborne.
