Scott Garrett: The Supreme Court Fails to Protect the Constitution in Health Care Ruling
On June 28, 2012 the United States Supreme Court ruled to uphold President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in a 5-4 decision. I am deeply disappointed by the failure of the Supreme Court to protect the American people from an unprecedented assault on individual liberty.
The individual mandate, the foundation of the PPACA, further extends the heavy-hand of the federal government into the lives of every American by forcing individuals to purchase health insurance regardless of whether they want it or not. This Supreme Court decision will fundamentally alter the role of the federal government in our lives.
The PPACA has also passed along billions of dollars in costs to taxpayers during one of the most serious economic downturns in American history. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected that government spending on health care will reach $1.8 trillion while premiums will continue to rise by thousands of dollars per family in the next decade. Clearly the PPACA has not lived up to its expectations.
With our national debt ballooning to over $15 trillion, now is not the time for the federal government to increase spending on government programs we cannot afford. This unprecedented expansion of federal spending threatens our long-term economic vitality and the prosperity of future generations. Our children and grandchildren deserve to live in an America free from the strangling burden of inherited debt.
The PPACA has also suffocated small businesses with increased burdens and compliance costs. This has not helped a struggling economy where the unemployment rate has sadly been above 8 percent for 40 consecutive months. While we continue to remain in the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression, Washington should work to eliminate the job-destroying taxes found in this legislation to give small businesses the confidence they need to create jobs.
The side-effects of the PPACA have been disastrous. Millions of lower-income families and seniors now have less choice when selecting a healthcare provider. Religious organizations have even been forced to provide services that run contrary to their fundamental religious beliefs. This is not the America our Founders envisioned.
Rather than come to the defense of our liberty, the Supreme Court has continued the century-long tendency of the judicial branch of stripping government of all limits to its power. It is now up to Congress to fully repeal and replace this legislation with market-based reforms that bring down the cost of health care for families and small businesses without sacrificing American jobs and our overall economic prosperity.
Sincerely,
Scott Garrett