[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H2578-H2579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SECRETARY SEBELIUS CONTINUES TO VIOLATE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY
(Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, the Constitution allows the Congress,
specifically the House of Representatives, to hold the purse strings of
the Federal Government--not the executive branch, not the Federal
agencies.
This week, we've heard reports that the Secretary of Health and Human
Services has been calling executives
[[Page H2579]]
from the industries that she regulates asking them to donate money to a
group called ``Enroll America,'' a private organization that makes the
President's health care law a success by signing individuals up for
coverage through exchanges.
The Antideficiency Act prohibits the Federal Government departments
from making greater expenditures in a fiscal year than those provided
by the Congress. So it begs the question: What is the Secretary
promising to corporate executives in exchange for their funding of this
ACA implementation? This continues the line of questionably ethical
conduct by the Secretary all to further the administration's
controversial agenda.
Let's review: in 2012, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel concluded
that Secretary Sebelius violated the Hatch Act by campaigning for
President Obama while traveling on official business; then they raided
the ACA's Prevention and Public Health Fund; and now she is seeking
money from businesses that she regulates to prop up the President's
takeover of American health care.
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