Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption," by John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman, with Jennifer Haberkorn:
"Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Obama's health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.
The talks - which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner, the Obama administration and other top lawmakers - are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. ...
A source close to the [months-long] talks says: 'Everyone has to hold hands on this and jump, or nothing is going to get done.' Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move forward with the plan, they risk being dubbed hypocrites by their political rivals and the American public. ... Democrats, in particular, would take a public hammering ... Republicans would undoubtedly attempt to shred them over any attempt to escape coverage by it, unless Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell give Democrats cover by backing it.
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