Deal pushes for quicker ruling on Obamacare
Gov. Nathan Deal, along with 28 other governors, sent a letter today to President Obama urging him to direct the U.S. Department of Justice to expedite the appeals process in the multistate litigation against Obamacare. With billions of dollars at stake for Georgia alone, Deal says it’s critical that states get a definitive ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court as quickly as possible on the constitutionality of the law.
“On behalf of the people of Georgia, I respectfully ask the president to direct the Justice Department to move as quickly as possible so we can have the certainty we need to move forward,” Deal said. “Doing so will enable the states and their citizens to act according to the ruling in a timely fashion; not doing so will drag out these measures and do our citizens a great injustice. There’s a strong chance the Supreme Court will rule this law unconstitutional – as I hope it does. We need that decision before we spend untold millions implementing these onerous mandates.”
As the ranking Republican on the health care subcommittee in the U.S. House, Deal was the first member to declare the individual mandate unconstitutional.
Text of the letter below:
February 09, 2011
President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The undersigned governors hereby express our strong support for an expedited appeal of the Virginia and Florida health care lawsuits recently decided in favor of the states. We respectfully ask that you direct the United States Department of Justice to support an expedited appellate process for each case to reach the United States Supreme Court as soon as possible in order to resolve the significant constitutional issues presented, which we all agree are of national importance.
Regardless of our respective positions on the merits of the policies in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), every state faces significant challenges and expenses implementing PPACA over the next several years. Additionally, there is little doubt that the cases will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court. This request for expedited review takes no position on PPACA, but seeks only to obtain the Supreme Court’s final determination as soon as possible.
Given the daunting and costly financial and regulatory burdens that our states and the private sector will face in implementing PPACA over the coming years, particularly during this unprecedented budgetary time, public interest requires expediting a final resolution of the litigation to give certainty as soon as possible. We should not endure years of litigation in the circuit courts, when the Supreme Court can promptly provide finality. This resolution can help prevent the states and the private sector from undertaking potentially unnecessary measures and expenses. More importantly, our businesses, health care providers, and citizens of our great nation need to know as soon as possible whether all or part of the law will be upheld or stricken, so they know their options and obligations.
To that end, we respectfully ask that you promptly support an expedited appellate process for each of the pending cases to achieve quick resolution by the United States Supreme Court and to encourage the United States Department of Justice to join these efforts.
Thank you for your consideration and prompt attention to this important national matter.