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APPEALS COURT CALLS OBAMACARE CONSTITUTIONALJune 29, 2011 - For Immediate Release
DENVER, CO. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, over the objection of a western, nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation with decades of experience addressing constitutional issues at the Supreme Court of the United States and many federal courts of appeals, today ruled that the individual mandate in the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” often called ObamaCare, is constitutional. Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) had argued in its amicus curiae brief filed for its members across the country, including those in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, that the individual mandate set forth in the statute, under which all Americans must purchase health care insurance or pay a penalty, is unconstitutional. In October 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan upheld the constitutionality of ObamaCare, ruling that not buying health insurance is an “economic decision” Congress may regulate. “We are disappointed with the ruling of the three-judge panel today and believe that the dissenting judge got it exactly right and consistent with the arguments of the Thomas More Law Center,” said William Perry Pendley, MSLF president. “We are eager for this case to reach the Supreme Court.” Since ObamaCare became law in March 2010, several lawsuits have been filed to challenge its constitutionality; most notable among them are the lawsuit filed by twenty States, as well as other plaintiffs, led by Florida, and the lawsuit filed by Virginia. All challenge the individual mandate, as well as other provisions, as conflicting with the Constitution. During the national debate regarding ObamaCare, Speaker Pelosi said memorably, regarding the 1,000 pages of legislation that nearly no one had read, “[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it . . . .” Over the last six months, a bill that the American people thought was bad (54% opposed its passage) has become the law that is worse than they had imagined (67% of “mainstream voters” today demand that it be repealed). Prior to its enactment, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) claimed that the statute would be revenue neutral; however, in the days and months since, the CBO is less sanguine about its impact on the economy. Moreover, recent responses of the marketplace and small businesses reflect a belief that ObamaCare spells disaster for the U.S. economy and for businesses. MSLF argues that America’s embrace of limited government of specific enumerated powers began in the pre-Revolutionary Days, continued through the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and has been upheld by the federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Mountain States Legal Foundation, created in 1977, is a nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own and use property, limited and ethical government, and the free enterprise system. Its offices are in suburban Denver, Colorado.
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Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is a nonprofit,
public interest legal foundation dedicated to individual liberty, the right
to own and use property, limited and ethical government, and economic freedom. It is an Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) entity
incorporated in the State of Colorado. Csontributions
to Mountain States Legal Foundation are tax deductible. [Mission] [Press
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