FreedomWorks to ‘Double Down’ on Efforts to Repeal Health Care Mandate

Washington, DC- FreedomWorks, a leading national conservative grassroots organizer, issued the following statement today in reaction to the news that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the liberals on the bench to uphold the president’s health care law as constitutional under Congress’s taxing power.

“The justification to uphold the individual mandate while simultaneously admitting it is unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause is baffling,” commented Dean Clancy, vice president of health care policy for FreedomWorks. “If a law violates the Constitution of the United States, it’s unconstitutional. Any other decision is an act of shameless judicial activism.”

“The president promised us in multiple interviews that the health care law was not a tax, and here we are today, on the steps of the Supreme Court building, told in a highly partisan vote that the health care law was upheld as a series of taxes. The historical, legal and political significance of today’s decision is troubling.” Clancy continued.

“Our work is far from over,” Clancy added. “Republicans must strike while the iron is hot and immediately begin efforts to repeal the law in Congress and replace it with a patient-centered system, which is the most effective and compassionate option on the table for health care reform today.”

Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks commented, “Without a strong grassroots constituency holding government accountable to its decisions, it’s doubtful the individual mandate would have been challenged in the first place. For that, activists across the country should be very proud. We are not going away. It’s time to double down on spreading the message that President Obama’s individual mandate is an unprecedented infringement on constitutional liberty, and to take that message to the ballot box in November.”

The 2,801-page “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” threatens to cost taxpayers at least $1.4 trillion over 10 years and mandates the purchase of private health care for all Americans, which will create an onslaught of economic and legal consequences that kill jobs, drive up the cost of health care for families, and make the powers of the federal government essentially limitless.

The grassroots campaign to repeal and replace “ObamaCare” has been a hard-fought battle for FreedomWorks and its network of more than 1.7 million grassroots activists nationwide. FreedomWorks engaged activists in August 2009 to hold members of Congress accountable in town hall meetings across the country, and served as a leading member of the “Repeal Coalition,” whose efforts included the “Repeal Pledge” campaign and grassroots efforts to enact Health Care Freedom Acts and stop PPACA ‘exchanges’ in the states. FreedomWorks also orchestrated the Tea Party Budget, a crowd-sourced economic recovery plan that scored repealing “ObamaCare” as the number one legislative priority.

On the two-year anniversary of the law, FreedomWorks staff and allies visited the Capitol Hill offices of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to deliver a petition with more than 120,000 signatures urging Congress to “End ObamaCare Now,” which activists signed through the petition site, www.EndObamaCareNow.com. The petition has since amassed more than 325,000 signatures.  

Last February, FreedomWorks issued a legal brief to the Supreme Court strongly arguing the unconstitutionality of the president’s health care law and providing the Court with credible evidence that the president’s health care law will destroy affordable insurance options. The brief went one step further to argue that even if the Court concludes that Congress can force Americans to buy a private product, it should still strike down the law as an unduly burdensome exercise of that power.

FreedomWorks pledges to continue advocating for a patient-centered health care system that would empower patients to control the dollars spent on their health needs. Patient-centered health care policy would allow patients to purchase insurance coverage across state lines, expand Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), end Medicare price controls, and find effective ways to help people with pre-existing conditions without the use of government mandates.

Clancy added, “The president’s health care law is a labyrinth of expanded and newly-created taxes, mandates, regulations, and government entities, all interwoven with each other and dependent on the individual mandate to function. FreedomWorks and our 1.7 million members across the country will be aggressively continuing our efforts to repeal the individual mandate, and our vigilant grassroots constituency will be watching to ensure that Congress’ solutions aptly represent the two most important voices of all: the patient and the taxpayer.”

For more information about FreedomWorks and its positions on health care policy, please visit www.FreedomWorks.org, or contact Press Secretary Jackie Bodnar at Jbodnar@FreedomWorks.org.