Rep. Darrell Issa subpoenaed Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber late Thursday for all the professor’s documents about the health-care law.
Gruber faced the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday and apologized profusely for his many comments over the past several years in which he called the American voters stupid and boasted that a “lack of transparency” helped get the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress.
But while Gruber was contrite, he refused to provide much new information to the committee, most notably stonewalling the total amount he made consulting on Obamacare through federal and state contracts. (RELATED: Gruber Hides Behind Lawyers)
Instead of admitting how much he made off the health-care law, Gruber repeatedly referred the committee to his attorney. He said that he believed his financial disclosures from the previous two fiscal years, which doesn’t encompass his consulting in the lead-up to Obamacare’s passage, were all that was required.
“As one of the architects of ObamaCare, Jonathan Gruber is in a unique position to shed light on the ‘lack of transparency’ surrounding the passage of the President’s health care law, however he has so far been unwilling to fully comply with the Oversight Committee’s repeated requests,” Issa said. “The American people deserve not just an apology, but a full accounting, which Dr. Gruber must provide.”
Under the subpoena, Gruber must provide all documents and communications with any government employee, federal or state, concerning to Obamacare or federal and state health care exchanges, as well as everything related to his work on the health-care law — including what he was paid.
A Daily Caller review of public records estimated that Gruber has made at least $5.9 million from state and federal governments. The federal government paid Gruber $4 million since 2000 for work as a legal consultant and expert witness, including a $392,600 contract by the Department of Health and Human Services for economic modeling on Obamacare. (RELATED: Gruber Has Made At Least $5.9 Million For Government Work)
But the details of those contracts are not public and Gruber’s refusal to confirm the amounts piqued the suspicions of several congressmen on the committee, who continued to press Gruber on the contracts throughout Wednesday’s hearing.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who will take Issa’s place in January as chairman of the committee, took Gruber to task for his silence, arguing that the taxpayers who paid for his consulting had a right to the contracts.
“What are you hiding?” Chaffetz asked. “Why won’t you give that to us?”