July 10, 2012

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative,

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) recently introduced H.R. 6079, the Repeal of Obamacare Act. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support this legislation.

Over the past two and a half years, taxpayers have watched the national debt climb to a frightening $15.9 trillion as Congress and President Obama massively enlarged the size and scope of the federal government against the will of the people. The passage of President Obama’s landmark healthcare legislation was perhaps the most fiscally dangerous piece of legislation and is most illustrative of Washington’s reckless and profligate behavior.

On June 28, 2012 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold Obamacare, deeming that the individual mandate component of the law was unconstitutional under both the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, but that it could remain intact as part of Congress’s authority to “lay and collect taxes.” This decision came despite the fact that President Obama himself repeatedly argued that his law was not a tax increase.

The government takeover of healthcare will only exacerbate the fiscal distress from which the nation already suffers. The $2.5 trillion package is packed with tax increases, insurance mandates, Medicare cuts, and unfunded Medicaid expansions. Beginning in 2014 under the new law, individuals will either have to purchase health insurance or pay a financial penalty to the government.

Seniors will see their Medicare benefits significantly reduced, resulting in limited choices and higher costs. While Medicare will soon experience cuts, Medicaid will be expanded, despite the fact that the program is going broke and states are struggling to fund their share of the massive program, even before federal matching programs expire. Imposing an unfunded mandate will only make Medicaid’s problems worse. The new spending, tax hikes, and regulations imposed by Obamacare will undoubtedly show that this burdensome law will cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and limit their healthcare options.

I strongly urge you to support the full repeal of Obamacare and focus on replacing it with a pro-growth, fiscally responsible package that addresses medical liability reform, health insurance pooling, tax incentives, customizable programs for individual states, and insurance regulation reform. All votes on H.R. 6079 will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2012 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW