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WESTERN LEGAL GROUP: OBAMACARE IS UNCONSTITUTIONALMay 23, 2011 - For Immediate Release
A western, nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation with decades of experience addressing constitutional issues before the Supreme Court of the United States and many federal courts of appeals today advised a Washington, D.C. appellate court that the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” (ObamaCare), is unconstitutional. Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) argues in its amicus curiae brief, filed for its members across the country, that the individual mandate set forth in the statute, under which all Americans must purchase health care insurance or pay a penalty, is unconstitutional. With its friend of the court brief, MSLF supports a lawsuit filed on June 9, 2010, challenging the statute’s constitutionality. On February 22, 2011, the district court granted a motion by the Obama Administration to dismiss the lawsuit holding that decisions, even if not acted upon, constitute “activity” that may be regulated by Congress. “For the first time in American history, Congress has ordered every American to make a specific purchase, that is, health insurance, because the Congress says it is in the national interest,” said William Perry Pendley, MSLF president. “If the Commerce Clause permits Congress to issue this individual mandate, there are no limits to what Congress may do.” 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passage) has become the law that is worse than they had imagined (67% of “mainstream voters” today demand that it be repealed).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
Releases] [Legal Cases] [Legal
Assistance ] |
