Rep. Charles Boustany. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The conservative blogosphere has been completely beside itself over an entry in the application draft being proposed by the Department of Health & Human Services for those planning to participate on the state health insurance exchanges created by Obamacare.
Page 59 of the draft application, entitled “List of Questions in the Online Application To Support Eligibility Determinations For Enrollment" asks the applicant if he or she would like to register to vote. If the applicant responds “yes”, the individual is automatically linked to a voter registration form.
The right wing media instantly viewed this as an effort on the part of the Obama Administration to encourage those sympathetic to the President to register to vote. Apparently, those who oppose the Affordable Care Act are under the impression that only Democrats—or those who are "pro-Obama"—will be signing up for the benefits of the health insurance exchanges.
So loudly have the drums of the conservative media been beating that Congress has now gotten into the act.
Responding to the alleged outrage, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), in a letter to the Department of Health & Human Services, demanded an explanation for the inclusion of the voter registration option, stating—
“The draft documents wander into areas outside the department's purview and links applications for health insurance subsidies to voter registration. The position of the question could lead some to think voter registration is somehow tied to subsidy eligibility.”
Boustany continued, “While the healthcare law requires that government agencies collect vast information about Americans’ personal lives, it does not give your department an interest in whether individual Americans choose to vote.”
Were Rep. Boustany more interested and educated in the law of the land, he would not have embarrassed himself with a demand for an explanation that he should have already known himself. At the least, it doesn't seem too much to ask that the Congressman might have turned to one of his staff members to do a little research before foolishly going after the Obama Administration.
After all, is this not why we provide Members of Congress with their staffs of clever and committed aides? And if these people can't keep their bosses from looking like complete boneheads, why, exactly, are we paying their salaries?
You see, The Voter Registration Act of 1993—often referred to as the “Motor Voter Act”—clearly requires that an application for any program that offers public assistance, such as the health care subsidies that will be available to certain Americans via the health insurance exchanges, must offer the applicant an opportunity to register to vote.
Here is the relevant section of the law —
“EX. ORD. NO. 12926. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 1993 Ex. Ord. No. 12926, Sept. 12, 1994, 59 F.R. 47227, provided:
Section 1. Assistance to States. To the greatest extent practicable, departments, agencies, and other entities of the executive branch of the Federal Government that provide, in whole or in part, funding, grants, or assistance for, or with respect to the administration of, any program of public assistance or services to persons with disabilities within the meaning of section 7(a) (emphasis added) of the Act shall:
(a) provide, to State agencies administering any such program, guidance for the implementation of the requirements of section 7 of the Act, including guidance for use and distribution of voter registration forms in connection with applications for service;
(b) assist each such State agency administering any such program with the costs of implementation of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.), consistent with legal authority and the availability of funds, and promptly indicate to each State agency the extent to which such assistance will be made available; and
(c) designate an office or staff to be available to provide technical assistance to such State agencies.”
It is because of this statute that you can find the opportunity to register to vote on every application to participate in Medicaid and other state based programs where the federal government provides some measure of public assistance or service to the disabled.
Sorry, Rep. Boustany, but there is no conspiracy to sign up potential Democratic leaning voters here—only compliance with a twenty year old law.
(Continue reading)
And while we have come to expect little in the way of research from the right wing media, one would have hoped that—as a member of the House Ways & Means Committee—Congressman Boustany might have had some familiarity with this statute.
Maybe next time the Congressman will show a bit more interest in actually knowing the law before pursuing the political benefits of writing spurious letters in an effort to curry a little favor with his voter base.
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