46 National Organizations to Congress: “Stop Obama’s Illegal IRS Health Care Power Grab”

Forty-six national organizations, fighting to reverse the government takeover of health care, have signed the following letter, urging Republicans at all levels to stand firm against ObamaCare’s health care “exchanges” and to take decisive action to resist the recent IRS power grab that threatens to impose exchanges on all 50 states in violation of law.

If you agree we should repeal ObamaCare, SIGN OUR PETITION NOW.

+ + +

46 FREE-MARKET AND CONSERVATIVE GROUPS SUPPORT S.J. RES. 48

September 10, 2012

Dear Senator Ron Johnson:

On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of our organizations, we are writing to offer our strong support for S. J. Res. 48, your resolution of disapproval of the IRS premium tax credit rule.

This rule amounts to an illegitimate backdoor rewrite of the president’s health care law and the imposition of an unauthorized tax on employers of up to $2,000 per worker. We therefore urge all of your colleagues to support S. J. Res. 48.

The president’s health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), attempted to coerce states into administering its vast new health care entitlement by offering huge subsidies that were contingent on states setting up “exchanges,” new health care bureaucracies.

The law’s supporters thought every state would be eager to do it – but many states have chosen not to. Now the IRS is attempting to rewrite the law to force states that lawfully opted out back into the subsidy regime by allowing subsidies to flow through federal exchanges.

In the rule the IRS says: “The statutory language of section 36B and other provisions of the Affordable Care Act support the interpretation that credits are available to taxpayers who obtain coverage through a State Exchange, regional Exchange, subsidiary Exchange, and the Federally-facilitated Exchange.” 

Yet there is no mention of a “federally-facilitated Exchange” anywhere in 36B. In fact, the definition of the new credit under 36B specifically requires enrollment “through an Exchange established by the State under 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” Identical language appears in the definition of a “coverage month” later in 36B.

Not only does 36B clearly state that eligibility for the subsidy requires enrollment in an exchange “established by the State,” but it also specifically cites section 1311 of PPACA, the section authorizing state exchanges. Section 36B contains absolutely no language authorizing subsidies through federal exchanges, which are created under section 1321 of PPACA.

This lawless IRS rule allows PPACA’s vast new health care subsidies to flow in states that lawfully opted out. Because employer penalty taxes only apply to companies with subsidy-eligible employees, the IRS rule literally imposes taxation without representation to the tune of up to $2,000 per worker. It also commits taxpayers to pay for hundreds of billions in subsidy spending that Congress never authorized, and therefore increases the deficit without congressional authorization.

If the health care law as written is so flawed that it can’t be implemented, that’s a reason to repeal it, not to empower IRS bureaucrats to secretly rewrite it.

Moreover, the precedent set by allowing the IRS to exceed its statutory authority and effectively impose its own taxes would potentially open the door to unlimited future abuses.

We therefore commend your efforts to stop this outrageous IRS rule and strongly support S.J. Res. 48. We urge your colleagues to cosponsor the resolution, sign a discharge petition under the Congressional Review Act to force floor

consideration, and vote for it on the Senate floor.

Thank you for your leadership on this important issue.

Sincerely,

James L. Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association

Dan Greenberg, President, Advance Arkansas Institute

Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment

Al Cardenas, Chairman, American Conservative Union

Christopher Jaarda, President, American Healthcare Education Coalition

Bill Wilson, President, Americans for Limited Government

James Valvo, Director of Policy, Americans for Prosperity

Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform

Andrew F. Quinlan, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Jeffrey Mazzella, President, Center for Individual Freedom

Bill Pascoe, Executive Vice President, Citizens for the Republic

Francis X. De Luca, President, Civitas Institute (North Carolina)

Chris Chocola, President, Club for Growth

Tom Brinkman Jr., Chairman, COAST (Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes – Ohio)

Fred Smith, President, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Penny Nance, President and CEO, Concerned Women for America

Thomas A. Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

Steven J. Duffield, Vice President, Policy Crossroads GPS

Kathryn Serkes, Chair, Doctor Patient Medical Association

Phyllis Schlafly, President, Eagle Forum

Sandy Rios, Vice President, Family Pac Federal

Tom McClusky, Sr. Vice President, Family Research Council Action

Dean Clancy, Legislative Counsel and Vice President, Health Care Policy, FreedomWorks

Tarren Bragdon, President and CEO, Foundation for Government, Accountability (Florida)

George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom

Eli M. Gold, President, The Harbour League (Maryland)

Heather R. Higgins, President and CEO, Independent Women’s Voice

Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty

John Hood, President, John Locke Foundation (North Carolina)

Seton Motley, President, Less Government

Colin A. Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel

J. Scott Moody, Chief Executive Officer, The Maine Heritage Policy Center

Ali A. Akbar, President, National Bloggers Club, Inc.

Amy Ridenour, Chairman, The National Center for Public Policy Research

Pete Sepp, Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union

Tom Zawistowski, President, Ohio Liberty Coalition

Lawrence A. Hunter, President, Social Security Institute

David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Carl Bearden, Executive Director, United for Missouri

Eric Novack, Chairman, US Health Freedom Coalition

Eli Lehrer, President, R Street

Ken Hoagland, Chairman, Restore America’s Voice Foundation

Amy Kremer, Chairman, Tea Party Express

John Colyandro, Executive Director, Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute

Morton Blackwell, Chairman, The Weyrich Lunch

Cc: All U.S. senators

+ + +

TAKE ACTION: If you agree we should repeal ObamaCare, SIGN OUR PETITION NOW.

Dean Clancy is FreedomWorks’ Legislative Counsel and Vice President, Health Care Policy. He leads our efforts to reverse the government takeover of health care and replace it with a patient-centered system.

Related Content