Chuck Fleischmann Comments on the Supreme Court Obamacare Decision

Statement

Congressman Chuck Fleischmann made the following comments following the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act.

"The Supreme Court made the wrong decision today. The Constitution places specific limits on the government, and the court unfortunately did not recognize those limits in allowing Obamacare to stand. While the Supreme Court may consider the individual mandate a tax, the Obama administration repeatedly claimed that this was not a tax when they tried to pass Obamacare. Like many conservatives, I believe the individual mandate cannot be justified as a tax," Fleischmann said.

"Not only does Obamacare force Americans to buy insurance whether they want it or not, but it also forces Americans to subsidize birth control even if it violates their faith. Additionally, the law creates IPAB, the Independent Payment Advisory Board. This board is anything but advisory. It has the power to control Medicare payments, and its decisions carry the full force of law.

"The results of Obamacare are clear: Higher healthcare costs, hundreds of billions in tax increases, top down government control of healthcare, and a continuation of our massive deficits. Now, it is time for Congressional Republicans to demonstrate our commitment to smaller government, and continue the fight to repeal Obamacare. Our healthcare, our nation's finances, and our national character demand nothing less."

Rep. Fleischmann has been a consistent advocate of repealing Obamacare throughout his time in Congress, and has been critical of many of the bill's provisions. One of Rep. Fleischmann's earliest votes was a full repeal of Obamacare in January of 2011. He has cosponsored and voted to repeal the 1099 provision of Obamacare, cosponsored and voted for a bill to repeal the Independent Patient Advisory Board, and cosponsored and voted for legislation that repeals the Medical Device tax.

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