By Pete Kasperowicz - 10/22/13 02:33 PM ET
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) on Tuesday called on President Obama to waive fines associated with the failure to sign up for ObamaCare, since most are unable to sign up for insurance using the government's broken website.
"[T]he American people would like some assurance: If government can't get its act together administering health insurance, will Americans get taxed for opting out?" she asked on the House floor.
"The fair answer is certainly 'no,' " she said. "I hope President Obama agrees."
The administration reacted Tuesday by appointing former Office of Management and Budget Director Jeff Zients to oversee repairs to the site. Foxx said questions are quickly piling up for Obama about the rollout of the health insurance exchanges, which have left thousands of people with error messages so far.
"Will he insist upon penalizing them for withholding their personal information from a government database already rife with privacy concerns?" she asked.
"Will he continue to demand patience, blame technical glitches, and dismiss legitimate concerns from the American public, while ObamaCare's broken launch dominates headlines? Will he give lenience to those in his administration who are responsible these failures?"
