Last week, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) issued a subpoena to the Office of Personnel Management to secure documents surrounding that agency’s August 2013 decision to authorize Obamacare insurance subsidies for lawmakers and congressional staff.

Robert Moffit, Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow and a former senior OPM official, issued the following statement:

“Under the Constitution, the president and his officers cannot withdraw funds from the Treasury without congressional appropriation. With Sen. Johnson’s action, America’s taxpayers will eventually secure the answers to an unanswered question: How did the Obama administration justify taxpayer subsidies for Congress and staff in the exchange, when there was—and is—no statutory basis for these subsidies either in the Affordable Care Act or in Title 5 that governs the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)? The Obama Administration’s action was an unfair and unconstitutional grant of special privileges to members of Congress and their staff. Incredibly, this controversy has been simmering without resolution ever 2013, and OPM officials need to help lawmakers seeking the truth.

Taxpayers should congratulate Sen. Johnson for his leadership in performing this long-overdue public service.”