WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL) announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “Defying the Constitution: The Administration’s Unlawful Funding of the Cost Sharing Reduction Program” on Thursday, July 7, at 10:00 AM in room 1100 of the Longworth House Office Building. At the hearing Members will hear testimony from Administration officials about the cost sharing reduction program and discuss the Committee’s year-and-a-half-long investigation into the Administration’s funding of the program.

Upon announcing the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Roskam said:

“This Administration knows no bounds when it comes to implementing the Affordable Care Act. Because of the leadership of Chairmen Brady and Upton, we’ve learned key Administration officials unlawfully spent unappropriated taxpayer dollars on a program designed to ensure insurance companies profit from the ACA’s exchanges. What’s worse, the Administration knew they were in the wrong – and they did it anyway. This hearing is an opportunity to get the facts and hold those in charge accountable.”

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) added:

“The more we learn, the more it’s clear that the Administration purposefully defied the Constitution and spent money that they knew they didn’t have the authority to spend. Our hearing is about upholding the Constitution and protecting a basic tenet of our Republic: the separation of powers. I appreciate Chairman Roskam’s commitment to holding the Administration accountable and helping the American people get the answers they deserve.”

BACKGROUND:
The hearing will focus on the Administration’s unlawful funding of the cost sharing reduction program after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Committee’s joint investigation with the Energy and Commerce Committee into the Administration’s willful violation of the United States Constitution.