Court Decision Sets Troubling Tax Precedent, but Congress Can Legislate with a Narrower View

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued the following statement today upon the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Obamacare:

“I am greatly troubled by the Supreme Court’s decision today validating the President’s unprecedented overreach into the lives of American citizens, and recasting Obamacare as a tax on the American people.

“This decision on its face establishes a number of troubling precedents our country will wrestle with for years to come. Among them, that government can compel its citizens, under threat of tax, to make purchases and decisions as though they were subjects, redefine the limits of federalism, and establish itself or its delegates as the unquestionable arbiters of patient care. The American people resoundingly disapprove of the President’s attempt to redefine the relationship between citizens and government in those terms, and I had hoped our Justices would see that our Constitution aggressively shields this foundational relationship from such federal expansion.

“More than two years ago when President Obama and Democrats ramrodded Obamacare through Congress, I was appalled. The President’s promises for openness and transparency with the American people were broken in a process that excluded the public from having a say in health care reform. That broken process, overseen by the President, was a precursor to the broken way in which the federal government will handle patient care– with patients on the periphery and a select few in Washington calling all the shots.

“President Obama and the proponents of his health law promised it would cut health care costs, expand insurance, and not raise taxes. But even prior to its full implementation, Obamacare has proved to be a hindrance, not a help, to the health care market and to broader economic recovery.  Health care premium costs are up over $1,000 per family, 20 million are at risk of losing their current health insurance, 48% of businesses aren’t hiring to brace for rising health care costs and latent tax increases, and by 2021, the Congressional Budget Office estimates there will be 800,000 fewer jobs because of the President’s health law. 

“America’s health care objectives haven’t changed since the President’s law passed, but today they are far more distant from being realized. We still want greater access to quality, affordable patient-centered care, and the best way we can go about achieving those ends is through repealing Obamacare in its entirety and starting fresh on health care reform with the American people as our partners. This is, and will remain, among my top priorities in Congress.”

To read the Court’s full decision on the President’s health law visit www.foxx.house.gov.

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