CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER

For Immediate Release: January 31, 2011

Contact: Doug Pennington, Press Secretary

(202) 296-6889 x303

pennington@theusconstitution.org

In Health Care Reform Decision

CAC President Doug Kendall: “Judge Vinson’s opinion sharply departs from the text and history of the Constitution, ignores the lessons of 220 years of Supreme Court rulings, and distorts the facts that establish the profoundly commercial nature of the decision to forgo health insurance.”                                                                                                                  

“Judge Vinson’s opinion sharply departs from the text and history of the Constitution,” said CAC President Doug Kendall, “ignores the lessons of 220 years of Supreme Court rulings, and distorts the facts that establish the profoundly commercial nature of the decision to forego health insurance.  The ruling should be swiftly overturned on appeal.”

Wydra added, “While Judge Vinson erred significantly in how the Constitution’s text and history apply to the minimum coverage provision, his decision today  correctly—albeit reluctantly – denied a claim that the Affordable Care Act violates constitutional principles of federalism.  As reflected in our amicus brief,” Wydra continued, “many State Legislators believe that the new health care reform law is consistent with the principles of federalism reflected in our Constitution, and is in the best interests of the people they were elected to represent.  They strongly disagree with the state Attorneys General and Governors, many from their own states, who seek a judicial ‘do-over’ by asking a judge to write a health care law that is more to their liking – a matter for Congress and the political process, not the courts,” Wydra said.

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Resources on the constitutionality of health care reform:

Brief amicus curiae from 78 State Legislators and Constitutional Accountability Center, defending the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the Florida case: http://theusconstitution.org/cases/briefs/us-department-health-human-services-v-florida-florida-v-hhs/florida-district-court

The States, Health Care Reform, and the Constitution:http://theusconstitution.org/think-tank/issue-brief/states-health-care-reform-and-constitution-0

Strange Brew: The Tea Party’s Errant Constitutional Attacks on Health Care Reform: http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/1829

Redefining Federalism: Listening to the States in Shaping “Our Federalism”: http://theusconstitution.org/think-tank/book/redefining-federalism-listening-states-shaping-our-federalism

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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