A New Take on Equal Opportunity
On Monday October 21st, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced SJ Res. 25, a constitutional amendment that would require all three branches of government – executive, legislative, and judicial – to be subject to the same requirements of law that apply to any U.S. citizen. Any constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate before being sent to the states. Three-fourths of the states would have to ratify the amendment before it could become law.
Although written with broad application for all statutory requirements, the measure’s thrust would be to retroactively compel Federal agencies and Congress to purchase health insurance coverage without benefit of the current Federal subsidy (about 70% of total insurance premium costs). Paul has stated that this amendment is in line with earlier legislation (signed by President Clinton) that required Congress to comply with labor and safety laws that they had created for the rest of the nation.
