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From Judicial Watch:
Judicial Watch Hosts Obamacare Panel as Supreme Court Prepares for Oral Arguments
On the first anniversary of the passage of Obamacare, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Obama Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to obtain records related to a taxpayer funded Obamacare propaganda campaign. (And thanks to these lawsuits, so far we've uncovered a treasure trove of records that prompted the U.S. Senate to follow suit with a bipartisan investigation of its own.)
How are we celebrating this year? On Thursday, March 22, just a few days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a consolidated Obamacare lawsuit, Judicial Watch will host an educational panel discussion, titled "Obamacare Update: In the Courts and In Practice."
The event will be held at Judicial Watch headquarters, so if you're in DC, please feel free to come on by. (It'll also be streamed live on our website, http://www.judicialwatch.org/judicial-watch-live/.) We'll have an excellent panel of experts, including former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum; South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson; Betsy McCaughey, president of Defend Your Healthcare, former lieutenant governor of New York; and Lee A. Casey, partner at Baker Hostetler. Each and every one of these panelists is a leader in this battle and we are lucky to have the benefit of their expertise.
One of the issues we are certain to discuss is the fate of the so-called "individual mandate," which requires American citizens to purchase health insurance or pay a government fine.
By now you likely know where we stand on this issue. Here's how we sum it up in the amicus curiae briefwe filed with the High Court on February 13:
We further argue that, if the Supreme Court affirms the constitutionality of the so-called individual mandate, "it must be willing to hold that Congress' powers under the Commerce clause are plenary and unlimited, for there remains no principled way to limit Congress' power if it is stretched as far as Petitioners (the Obama administration) ask."
Or, as Florida federal district judge Roger Vinson ruled last year in an opinion that would strike down Obamacare in its entirety, if the government can force American taxpayers to buy health insurance, it can also force them to decide "whether and when (or not) to buy a house, a car, a television, a dinner or even a morning cup of coffee."
This is a frightening but very real proposition if Obamacare is allowed to stand.
Another issue that I'm sure will come up during our panel is the overall cost of the putting the president's socialist healthcare overhaul into action. Just this week, the Congressional Budget Office revised its projections for the cost of Obamacare. Once set at a "mere" $900 billion, it appears cost projections have doubled to at least 1.6 trillion (with a "t") between now and 2022. And that's just the cost of coverage and does not address the cost of implementation. When taking these other costs into consideration, the total tab for Obamacare could reach or exceed $2.6 trillion.
We also hope to cover Obamacare's unprecedented assault on religious liberty. The power-hungry Commander in Chief needs to remember that he is only our president, not our pope.
As I say, now this is all in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which begins hearing oral arguments on Monday, March 26, in a lawsuit brought against the Obama administration by 26 states and other parties (Florida v. Dept. of Health & Human Services). A decision is expected sometime in June. But as you can see with Big Government's pending upending of traditional religious doctrine on the altar of socialized medicine, this is a battle that may not end quickly or cleanly.
Judicial Watch Hosts Obamacare Panel as Supreme Court Prepares for Oral Arguments
On the first anniversary of the passage of Obamacare, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Obama Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to obtain records related to a taxpayer funded Obamacare propaganda campaign. (And thanks to these lawsuits, so far we've uncovered a treasure trove of records that prompted the U.S. Senate to follow suit with a bipartisan investigation of its own.)
How are we celebrating this year? On Thursday, March 22, just a few days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a consolidated Obamacare lawsuit, Judicial Watch will host an educational panel discussion, titled "Obamacare Update: In the Courts and In Practice."
The event will be held at Judicial Watch headquarters, so if you're in DC, please feel free to come on by. (It'll also be streamed live on our website, http://www.judicialwatch.org/judicial-watch-live/.) We'll have an excellent panel of experts, including former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum; South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson; Betsy McCaughey, president of Defend Your Healthcare, former lieutenant governor of New York; and Lee A. Casey, partner at Baker Hostetler. Each and every one of these panelists is a leader in this battle and we are lucky to have the benefit of their expertise.
One of the issues we are certain to discuss is the fate of the so-called "individual mandate," which requires American citizens to purchase health insurance or pay a government fine.
By now you likely know where we stand on this issue. Here's how we sum it up in the amicus curiae briefwe filed with the High Court on February 13:
Petitioners are trying to defend a provision in an act passed by Congress that exceeds its enumerated powers. Though Congress enacted this provision under the Commerce Clause, Congress' power under the clause is not broad enough to compel Americans to engage in commerce by purchasing a particular product. Though Petitioners try to rescue the provision by arguing that it is valid under Congress' taxing power even if it is invalid under Congress' commerce power, a provision of an act that is not a tax may not be construed as a tax merely to save it from being declared unconstitutional.
We further argue that, if the Supreme Court affirms the constitutionality of the so-called individual mandate, "it must be willing to hold that Congress' powers under the Commerce clause are plenary and unlimited, for there remains no principled way to limit Congress' power if it is stretched as far as Petitioners (the Obama administration) ask."
Or, as Florida federal district judge Roger Vinson ruled last year in an opinion that would strike down Obamacare in its entirety, if the government can force American taxpayers to buy health insurance, it can also force them to decide "whether and when (or not) to buy a house, a car, a television, a dinner or even a morning cup of coffee."
This is a frightening but very real proposition if Obamacare is allowed to stand.
Another issue that I'm sure will come up during our panel is the overall cost of the putting the president's socialist healthcare overhaul into action. Just this week, the Congressional Budget Office revised its projections for the cost of Obamacare. Once set at a "mere" $900 billion, it appears cost projections have doubled to at least 1.6 trillion (with a "t") between now and 2022. And that's just the cost of coverage and does not address the cost of implementation. When taking these other costs into consideration, the total tab for Obamacare could reach or exceed $2.6 trillion.
We also hope to cover Obamacare's unprecedented assault on religious liberty. The power-hungry Commander in Chief needs to remember that he is only our president, not our pope.
As I say, now this is all in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which begins hearing oral arguments on Monday, March 26, in a lawsuit brought against the Obama administration by 26 states and other parties (Florida v. Dept. of Health & Human Services). A decision is expected sometime in June. But as you can see with Big Government's pending upending of traditional religious doctrine on the altar of socialized medicine, this is a battle that may not end quickly or cleanly.
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