Goodlatte Applauds Court Ruling Allowing House Lawsuit to Move Forward

Statement

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the statement below on today's ruling from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia finding that the House of Representatives has standing in court to challenge the Obama Administration's use of unappropriated funds to implement the Affordable Care Act.

Chairman Goodlatte: "I am pleased that the DC federal court has ruled that the House's lawsuit challenging President Obama's executive overreach can move forward in court. The Constitution is very clear: it is Congress' job to write our laws and it is the President's duty to enforce them. The Constitution is also clear that Congress has the power of the purse, but the Obama Administration has spent billions of taxpayer dollars on the implementation of Obamacare, none of which have been appropriated by Congress by law.

"President Obama's pattern of executive overreach threatens to unravel our government's system of checks and balances that is designed to protect individual liberty. If the President is allowed to change laws by himself and use money that has not been appropriated by Congress, he and future presidents can be expected to change more laws that affect Americans' rights and tax dollars. Both the legislative and judicial branches must put a stop to the executive branch's abuse of power so that we preserve individual freedom and our Republic for generations to come."

In July 2014, the House of Representatives approved H.Res. 676, a resolution authorizing the House to enter into litigation against President Obama for his failure to faithfully execute the laws. The House filed litigation over President Obama's unilateral changes to Obamacare on November 21, 2014.

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