Key Vote YES on H.R. 1213 to End ObamaCare Slush Fund

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our million-plus members FreedomWorks nationwide, I urge you to call your Representative and ask him or her to vote YES on Rep. Upton’s (R-MI) H.R. 1213 to repeal mandatory funding provided to states in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to establish American Health Benefit Exchanges. Section 1311(a) of PPACA provides the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius a direct appropriation of such sums as necessary for grants to the states to assist the purchase of qualified health care plans in newly created American Health Benefit Exchanges. The size of the direct appropriation is solely determined by the Secretary. The Administration is already using this unlimited slush fund to seduce states into collaborating in the implementation of Obamacare and has hinted at tapping it to bail out exploding state Medicaid budgets. H.R. 1213 would strike the unlimited direct appropriation and rescind any unobligated funds. 

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has confirmed that the “state-based exchange grants” fund is an “indefinite appropriation,” meaning it’s open-ended and requires no further action by Congress to be tapped by the President. It is dangerous to give any member of the Executive Branch a blank check from taxpayers. President Obama has the unlimited power to increase the cost of healthcare as much as he wants to. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that Congressman Upton’s bill would save taxpayers about $14 billion over the next ten years. However, this is largely a guess on the agency’s part. The savings could be much greater since the slush fund is not subject to any controls or limits.

Section 1311(a) of PPACA is a dangerous, irresponsible and unconstitutional delegation of money and power to the Executive Branch. Under our Constitution, only Congress has the power of the purse. To formally delegate the President the power to appropriate funds from the Treasury without stint or limit breaches the separation of powers. While our ultimate goal is to completely repeal ObamaCare, repealing the unlimited slush fund is a step in the right direction. 

I urge you to call your representatives and ask them to vote YES on H.R. 1213 to repeal mandatory funding provided to states in the Patient Protection and Affordable Act (PPACA) to establish American Health Benefit Exchanges. We will count their vote on H.R. 1213 as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2011. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

Sincerely,
 
Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a PDF version of this letter.]