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June 4, 2012 – Up or Down on ObamaCare:  Texas Attorneys to Hear Live Debate

David Rivkin and Harvard Law Prof to Face Off June 15

Washington D.C. – As the U.S. awaits the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), the various factions pro and con continue to line up and weigh in on both whether and how the controversial law will stand.  David Rivkin, who led the 26-state case against the U.S. government in Florida’s 11^th District Court (whose judge, Roger Vinson, ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor, will meet Harvard Law professor Einer Elhauge, author of amicus briefs that assert the legality of the individual mandate.  The debate is scheduled for 9:00 am, on Friday, June 15, at the Texas Bar Association’s Annual Conference in Houston.

For more information on the debate and the conference, visit http://www.texasbar.com. For more information about David Rivkin, visit http://www.davidrivkin.com.

May 7, 2012 – “The Healthcare Law and You” – Demystified A source forwards this copy of a 20-page Obama Administration PowerPoint presentation, circulated by the Department of Health and Human Services to allies. The aim: Making the unpopular law more politically saleable. Read the whole thing here.

March 26, 2012 – *This Just In* The SCOTUS will release same day audio of the ObamaCare Oral Arguments. First MP3 will be available at 1 p.m. EST today here: http://www.supremecourt.gov/

March 26, 2012 – *Breaking* Supreme Court Hearings on ObamaCare March 26 – 28.  – Follow @ObamaCare411 on Twitter for the latest!

March 23, 2012 – Liberty and ObamaCare – Few legal cases in the modern era are as consequential, or as defining, as the challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that the Supreme Court hears beginning Monday. The powers that the Obama Administration is claiming change the structure of the American government as it has existed for 225 years. Thus has the health-care law provoked an unprecedented and unnecessary constitutional showdown that endangers individual liberty.

It is a remarkable moment. The High Court has scheduled the longest oral arguments in nearly a half-century: five and a half hours, spread over three days. Yet Democrats, the liberal legal establishment and the press corps spent most of 2010 and 2011 deriding the government of limited and enumerated powers of Article I as a quaint artifact of the 18th century. Now even President Obama and his staff seem to grasp their constitutional gamble. (Wall Street Journal) More > …

January 13, 2012 – Archive: “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what’s in it” Watch the trailer that started it all! (YouTube) More > …

January 10, 2012 – Night of the living dead  You’ve heard of Christmas in July, but Halloween in January?  In case you missed, Friday was a big day for those following the Obamacare litigation, as the first briefs arrived at the Supreme Court clerk’s office… (National Review Online) More > ….

October 5, 2011  – Think you heard the last of ObamaCare?

Ed Meese and David Rivkin to lead ObamaCare panel at Heritage Foundation

Published October 4, 2011

By Staff
(OfficialWire)

Former White House lawyer and leading conservative commentator, David Rivkin, was the first to outline the constitutional challenge to ObamaCare that will soon go before the Supreme Court.

ObamaCare, officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, marks the first time in history that the federal government has required every person to purchase a commercial product or service.

As part of its “Preserve the Constitution” series, the Heritage Foundation is presenting an expert panel, headlined by David Rivkin, to discuss the case on Nov. 3 at Lehrman Auditorium in D.C. from noon to 1 p.m.

Other speakers include: Todd Gaziano, director of the Center for Legal & Judicial Studies; Michael Carvin, partner at Jones Day and lawyer for the National Federation of Independent Business; and Andrew Grossman, a visiting fellow and moderator with the Heritage Foundation.

The panel will be hosted by Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.

Among the questions that will be discussed: Is there any limit to what Congress can require? Does the Commerce Clause, which some argue has already been stretched beyond recognition, grant Congress the power to force citizens to purchase broccoli? What do the text of the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent suggest? When is the Supreme Court likely to review the case? Will the Supreme Court strike down the individual mandate, but leave the rest of ObamaCare standing?

David Rivkin is highly regarded for his award-winning legal writing in major publications such as The Wall Street Journal. Most recently, he was awarded the prestigious 2011 Burton Award for Legal Achievement for his writing in The Washington Post.

For more information on how to attend or watch online, visit: http://www.heritage.org/Events/2011/11/Is-ObamaCare-Constitutional

David Rivkin’s ObamaCare articles, such as The Wall Street Journal’s “Is government health care unconstitutional?”, and other writings can be found at www.DavidRivkin.com.

Source: http://officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=254247

Giving it another try! House GOP launches new effort to defund ObamaCare

The House goes after two funding measures, one dealing with the setting up of state insurance exchanges and the other for school-based health center construction. (Newsmax) More > …

Up close and personal with the PPACA

What it really took to read the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Read it here!

Bachmann tired of soft Boehner

Talking about her Republican leaders in advance of Tuesday’s budget extension vote, Bachmann explained: “I think there’s going to be a fake appeasement with the Planned Parenthood thing and a fake appeasement with the ‘Obamacare’ thing.” (Huffington Post) More > …

Hands off ObamaCare’s slush

House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy are blocking the efforts of Rep. Steve King and Rep. Michele Bachmann to defund the so-called “ObamaCare slush fund” via the continuing resolution or House spending bills, despite being told by House Republican leadership staff that they could do so under current House rules. Why? (AmericanSpectator.com) More > …

What’s the tea Michele?!

Rep. Michele Bachmann discovered $105 billion of taxpayers’ money that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi had hidden in ObamaCare. Now, Bachmann wants her colleagues to refuse to pass must-pass bills, such as the Continuing Resolution or raising the debt limit, unless they include recapturing that secret money. What a great idea! (TownHall.com) More > …

Oh no “She-ila” didn’t!

“Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) claimed that there was no financial penalty for not having health insurance under the new health care law, saying that it was in fact an “incentive” to get people to do the right thing. This from a woman who claimed Rush is a racist when he called MSNBC host Ed Schultz, “Sergeant Schultz.”’ Girl, please! (Weasel Zippers) More > …

Pence: ‘Power of the Purse will kill ObamaCare’

Indiana Rep. Mike Pence said in an interview with Stuart Varney, “if Congress cannot repeal ObamaCare outright it will make every effort to make sure the law cannot be funded.” The proof will be in his Purse! (Newsmax) More > …

Sign the petition and force Harry Reid to vote on ObamaCare

This monstrosity of a law raises taxes and lowers health care quality. It has been found unconstitutional by two federal judges, the latter of which completely threw it out. We need to keep the pressure on! Watch this video then go to GOPTrust.com and sign the petition today. (YouTube) More > …

Click to watch the video

What is Rep. Steve King’s definition of defunding ObamaCare?

The House Rules Committee has rejected Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) proposal to fully defund ObamaCare.  King wanted to add to the continuing resolution (which funds the federal government) the following amendment:

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available in this Act or any previous Act may be used to carry out the provisions of Public Law 111-148 [Affordable Care Act], Public Law 111-152 [Reconciliation Act], or any amendment made by either such law.”

There are two ways to defund ObamaCare.  Much of ObamaCare’s funding is only “authorized to be appropriated.”  Both the House and Senate must pass appropriation bills in order for that spending to occur.  One way to defund ObamaCare is not to pass such appropriation bills.

But not all funding must be approved via appropriation bills.  Steve King has found $105 billion that can be spent regardless.  The authors of the Affordable Care Act and related health care reform legislation cunningly inserted “mandatory” self-funding provisions.  Frequently, these take the form of transferring moneys from one place to another.  The money is already out there, so to speak.

The following is a perfect example of a self-funding provision from the Affordable Care Act (Section 3026(f)):

“(f) FUNDING.—For purposes of carrying out this section, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide for the transfer, from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund…and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust…$500,000,000, to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Program Management Account for the period of fiscal years 2011 through 2015. Amounts transferred under the preceding sentence shall remain available until expended.”

This single sentence provides $500 million for ObamaCare without the need for further approval by the House and Senate.  Steve King’s proposal would have stopped the use of any money going towards the implementation of ObamaCare.

Republicans quashed King’s idea because it was pragmatic to do so.  Continuing resolutions are joint resolutions, which means both House and Senate must approve them.  The Republican majority in the House could have passed the continuing resolution with King’s amendment attached, but the Democrat majority in the Senate would have rejected it.  Even if the Senate passed it, Obama promised to veto it.

King’s amendment to fully defund ObamaCare not only would have shut down the government (the consequence of having no continuing resolution to fund it), but it would have deep-sixed the House Republicans’ budget cuts in the continuing resolution itself.  To preserve these budget cuts, King’s proposal was quickly killed.

King’s idea was too risky from the Republicans’ point of view.  Until a more appropriate opportunity presents itself, much of ObamaCare will remain self-funded.