WASHINGTON – As the Senate continues to debate its healthcare reform bill, Senate minority leaders Tom Coburn, MD (R-Okla.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and David Vitter (R-La.) filed an amendment this week that would call on the president, his administration, White House staff, members of Congress and their staff to enroll in the government-run public option, should it pass.

This is the second time Republicans have filed such an amendment; the first attempt, introduced by Grassley, was removed earlier this month.

“The president, members of Congress and others in our government can demonstrate leadership and confidence in the public option by enrolling themselves in the program," Coburn said. "While I oppose the public option, Republicans and Democrats can agree that we should live under the laws we pass."

Grassley said the White House and cabinet secretaries are working hard to overhaul America’s healthcare system. “It’s only fair that if this bill becomes law, these individuals should themselves be subject to the reforms.  The same is true for Congressional staff. Quietly carving out leadership staff and committee staff behind closed doors is unacceptable. If the reforms are as good as their supporters say, the reforms should be good enough for everybody.”

Coburn and Grassley said they joined forces after winning approval of amendments in their respective committees to apply the new health reforms to members of Congress and staff. Coburn’s amendment in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed with some Democratic support, and Grassley’s amendment in the Finance Committee received unanimous approval.

Grassley said last week he learned that staff members of Senate leadership offices and committees are exempted from the requirement that Congress and Congressional staff get employer-based health insurance through the same system that would apply to the rest of the country under the Senate majority leader’s healthcare legislation. He said staff for the majority leader and Democratic committee chairmen wrote the bill behind closed doors, and that the carve-out came to light after he asked the non-partisan Congressional Research Service to analyze the bill.

In states that choose to opt out of the public option, lawmakers would be required to sign up for care under the alternative, a healthcare co-op. Currently, federal lawmakers participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, available to all federal employees.

According to President Barack Obama, the public option would be a federally run healthcare plan, similar to Medicare, where beneficiaries could choose their own doctors and hospitals. The plan would be provided as an option for those who can't or choose not to purchase healthcare through their employer or in the private market. Beneficiaries of the plan would pay premiums set by the government.

Earlier this year, Obama said experts estimate as few as 5 percent of Americans would initially chose to participate in the public option. He also said the public option would help to keep private insurance companies "honest" by providing competitive pricing.

Republicans have argued that the public option is the Democrats' precursor to establishing a nationwide government-run healthcare.