House investigators said Thursday they will legally compel Obamacare “architect” Jonathan Gruber to cough up documents related to his work on the president’s health overhaul and how much he was paid.
Oversight committee chairman Darrell Issa, California Republican, said he followed through late Wednesday on his threat to subpoena the economics professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology after he received unsatisfactory answers at a hearing Tuesday on a series of comments Mr. Gruber made at academic conferences. The remarks fed into the Republican belief that Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act under a cloud of secrecy.
“This week, Dr. Gruber repeatedly refused to answer several key questions, including the amount of taxpayer funds he received for his work on ObamaCare,” Mr. Issa said. “The American people deserve not just an apology, but a full accounting, which Dr. Gruber must provide.”
Mr. Issa said Mr. Gruber is in a “unique position” to shed light on how the law passed, because he provided economic models that helped the White House craft its law.
The committee wants any Obamacare-related communications between Mr. Gruber and federal, state or local officials, documents related to funding for his work and the results of the work itself.
Mr. Gruber quickly became the focal point of anger surrounding Obamacare after web videos surfaced of him saying impolitic things about the “stupidity of the American voter” and suggesting the 2010 law was written in a “tortured” way to game the budget-scoring process before its passage.
Mr. Gruber apologized repeatedly for his comments during Tuesday’s hearing.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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