Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has warned Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that he may issue subpoenas to officials if they do not agree to testify on Obamacare subsidies before the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on oversight next month.
According to
The Hill, the 2016 GOP presidential hopeful made the threat after he had been told that a number of officials would not be available to testify, specifically Mark Mazur, an assistant secretary for tax policy; Emily McMahon, deputy assistant secretary for tax policy; and Cameron Arterton, deputy tax legislative counsel for tax policy.
"This refusal is unacceptable and interferes with Congress' and this Committee's obligation to ensure proper functioning of federal agencies and the federal rule making process," Cruz wrote in a letter to Lew.
Cruz added that the officials should have to testify "regardless of any perceptions of poor timing by, or inconvenience to, the executive branch."
Next month, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision in the case King v. Burwell, which will determine whether consumers on the federal Obamacare exchange are eligible for insurance subsidies.
Cruz said in his letter that he does not believe that testimony before the committee will affect the outcome of the court's decision, according to The Hill.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the court striking down the subsidies, a number of Senate Republicans are
backing a plan that would temporarily restore them for current enrollees.
Thirty-one senators have signed onto a bill authored by Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson that would extend the subsidies through September 2017 but, at the same time, repeal Obamacare's individual and employer mandates and insurance coverage requirements.
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