This morning the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on the constitutionality of the highly controversial, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly refereed to as Obamacare. In the wake of the Court's decision to uphold the individual mandate as a tax, Chris Edwards, candidate for Congressional District 1, issued the following statement:
"Today, the Administration lost its argument that the federal government can force individuals to buy something. Ironically, to save the law, the Administration had to redefine it. The Administration's own lawyers had to contradict their countless earlier statements that the individual mandate was not a tax. And the Supreme Court majority agreed with them. Of course, the Administration's admission that it is a tax breaks their pledge to not raise our taxes for the sake of expanding healthcare. It is important to note that the Supreme Court clipped the wings of the Commerce Clause as well. To fully understand this decision, we are going to have to read the full decision and not just the headlines. Justice Roberts, clearly outlined that the only way that the individual mandate could be constitutional was under the provision granting Congress the authority to levy taxes. Today's ruling affirms what we all have known that this law is nothing more than a tax on those who choose to exercise their freedom of choice over their healthcare," said Edwards.
"On June 28th, the American people lost. Our debt will increase, small business will be forced to lay off workers or close, our insurance premiums will continue to rise, and a commonsense solution to our nation's healthcare crisis will all but stop. While those on the left will declare victory, those signing the front of American paychecks know they and their workers have lost. We cannot continue to send those without real world experience to Washington, or this is the results we can expect. Dina Titus should be ashamed of her vote on this job killing, debt and tax increasing piece of legislation. If elected, I will join with Congressional Republicans to repeal this monstrosity, and work tirelessly for commonsense reforms that will effectively address the healthcare without sacrificing jobs or our economy," concluded Edwards.