Thirty-two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are demanding the immediate resignation or firing of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius over the failed implementation of Obamacare.
“With more than three years to prepare for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we are surprised to see the level of uncertainty, confusion and incompetence that has riddled the Health Insurance Marketplace since October 1,” the members wrote to President Barack Obama in a letter obtained by Breitbart News. “The Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring an integrated debut of the federal government’s website, HealthCare.gov. Unfortunately, as we have seen in numerous news reports, many Americans have found it impossible to sign up for the required health coverage or to simply learn about the new plans and associated costs. The scope of the problem is so great that, were this a private company or military command, the CEO or general would have been fired. We are, therefore, calling on you to hold Secretary Sebelius accountable for the fiasco that is HealthCare.gov and ask for her resignation.”
The members of Congress noted that HHS has spent “more than $400 million” on the Obamacare website and that “analyses by IT system experts have indicated the problem is not due to high traffic, but to structural design problems and poor coding.”
“Other reports have revealed that the site had not been adequately tested by independent third-parties, either for data security or for handling the necessary load of requests,” they wrote. “It’s been reported that a major part of the problem stems from an internal HHS decision to prevent people from simply browsing health policies and prices until they first created an account and entered crucial data that would determine their eligibility for subsidies.”
They argue that if President Obama and Secretary Sebelius were smart, they would have delayed the rollout of Obamacare to fix these issues. “The wise thing to do would have been to delay the rollout to allow time for adequate testing, much like your administration has delayed many other key pieces of the Obamacare legislation,” the Congressmembers wrote. “Instead, by rushing to deploy an untested system, many Americans may be surprised to find that they are subject to Obamacare penalties when they have been unable to sign up due to confusion or technical “glitches.” Others who believed they signed up may actually find themselves not in the system and without coverage.”
Now, they say, it is “not too late” to regain trust of the American people.
“By calling for the resignation of Secretary Sebelius, you can send a powerful signal that the American people will not be held responsible for her department’s failures,” the 32 members wrote. “By granting a delay in the rollout of Obamacare, you can ensure fairness for all Americans, not just the select few.”
Members who signed the letter include: Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Mike Pompeo (R-KS), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Randy Weber (R-TX), Ted Yoho (R-FL), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Andy Harris (R-MD), Alan Nunnelee (R-MS), Walter Jones (R-NC), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Paul Broun (R-GA), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Steve Southerland (R-FL), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Roger Williams (R-TX), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Bill Shuster (R-PA), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Stephen Fincher (R-TN), Bob Gibbs (R-OH), Jim Renacci (R-OH), Pete Olson (R-TX), Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Steve Stockman (R-TX), John Fleming (R-LA), and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA).
This letter comes on the heels of Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2014 organizing to call on the president to delay the individual mandate.
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