Supreme Court Health Care Decision

Floor Speech

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Mr. HUELSKAMP. Thank you, Congressman Graves. I appreciate your leadership. Sometimes we wish there had been someone like you on the Court today.

Actually, before we forget, as for one of the five votes that upheld ObamaCare, in any other court of law, that Justice would have recused herself. The decision might have only been 4-4. Justice Kagan should not have been in on this decision. In any other court, she would have been recused. If a lawyer had refused to recuse himself as a judge, he would have been violating ethical rules. Every attorney in this country knows that, including the Chief Justice, and they said nothing.

Do you know what? I'm not here to talk specifically about that. You talked about taxes. Our other Congressman friend did as well.

In this bill, there are 21 tax increases by the definition of the Court, but I want to talk about two in particular because I believe, when we look back on the American system of a once limited government, this day, June 28, 2012, will stand as the definitive date in the advance of government tyranny. In today's ruling, a slim majority of the Court turned the Constitution on its head and ruled that the Federal Government, in effect, can force upon the American people anything it darned well pleases so long as it's called a ``tax.''

Let's not forget that, when our Founding Fathers put everything on the line, risking life, limb, and property to make us an independent Nation, they did so in order to ensure that no man was taxed without representation. They also asserted that every man and woman has inalienable rights that are not to be violated by the government. They enshrined these concepts in the Declaration of Independence and, ultimately, in our Constitution.

Today, in my opinion, the Supreme Court offered a perverse interpretation of the Bill of Rights. Just across the street from here, they said that, even though you have a right to do something, the decision to exercise that right will incur a tax. The decision to exercise that right, said the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, will incur a tax.

Can you imagine the limitless possibilities for Washington? Why not extend this interpretation to other parts of the Constitution? For example, why not tax the exercise of your First Amendment rights?

Sure, you've got First Amendment rights. Send your Member of Congress a letter, but pay a fine to the government. That makes sense under this ruling. Sell a newspaper or publish a blog. Don't forget to tell the IRS and the new 16,500 agents they want to hire to enforce it. What about a right to a fair and speedy trial? That's guaranteed, but you know, that's yours to have but for a fee.

That's the lack of logic. For average Americans who love their Constitution, these are guaranteed. They're not allowed to be imposed if you pay the fine or the fee.

One thing in particular I want to talk about, Congressman Graves, is that, in addition to this health insurance mandate tax, the President's health care law creates what is clearly a religion tax. A religion tax? Yes, you heard me right, and it's even if you morally or ethically disagree with something being promoted.

Right now, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and former Governor of Kansas, look at her record. Most Americans would completely disagree with her moral views, but if you disagree with her mandates of the President's health care plan, it doesn't matter. You will still have to pay for it. If you dare to follow your conscience and, maybe, actually practice your faith or no faith whatsoever and refuse to participate, you will be fined. Why? You will be taxed because of what you believe and your desire to live it out. You will be forced to give your hard-earned money to the IRS in Washington, D.C., because of what you believe. That, my friends, is a religion tax. It's a faith tax. It's a direct attack on our freedom of religion.

Now, today the Court didn't rule on that. There are dozens and dozens and dozens of lawsuits coming on about the HHS mandate coming out of ObamaCare. This is the start: a tax on religion.

I have an employer who sent me an email. He said, Well, Tim, everybody is talking about the individual mandate. What about the employer mandate? I don't want to cover abortions for my employees. I refuse to participate.

He will be fined $3,000 at a minimum for every single employee. Why? Because of what he believes.

That's why we started this country--for freedom to believe as we ought, not as the government or as the king or as the Chief Justice would have us believe. But they didn't address this directly in this decision; they'll be coming. This is a shocking attack, I believe, on the first supreme right in the First Amendment, which is the right to believe in and follow the God one chooses.

The Supreme Court may not have dealt ObamaCare the death it deserved, but it's incumbent upon each and every one of us here in Congress and each and every American. I would have loved to have witnessed a home run, knock it out of the park and say it's clearly unconstitutional. Again, if Justice Kagan had been ethical, it would have been a 4-4 decision. They didn't worry about that. Ethics doesn't matter. It's just the end. It's kind of the Progressive Caucus approach. The end justifies the means, but not in America.

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