Monday, March 22, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY - Governor Gary R. Herbert has signed HB67, which requires the Utah Department of Health to carefully analyze federal healthcare reform efforts prior to implementation and to report to the Legislature potential impacts on Utahns and to the state's own healthcare reform efforts.

"States must take reasoned, proactive steps to keep themselves in control of their own reform efforts," Governor Herbert said. "With last night's passage of federal healthcare reform legislation, it is more important than ever that we stand up to the federal government. States simply cannot afford an unfunded mandate of this magnitude that creates yet another unmanageable federal entitlement program."

"In addition, every Utahn should be concerned about the impact of this legislation on our economic recovery, the chilling effect on job creation for small businesses, and the added burden to an already unacceptable and growing national debt."

One possible response to the expected signing of the legislation by President Barack Obama is a lawsuit against the federal government, such as that proposed Monday by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.

"In light of the concerns shared by many people in Utah and around the country, it is entirely appropriate that the Attorney General and his counterparts across the nation consider every option on this issue," Governor Herbert said. "A lawsuit puts into action concerns over a federal government overreach that is unprecedented and possibly unconstitutional."

Of particular concern to the Governor is the possibility that the federal legislation will supersede Utah's own healthcare reform efforts, which have been ongoing for several years and are beginning to show great promise toward increasing transparency, access and choice in Utah's healthcare system.

"I have consistently said that one-sits-fits-all federal solutions do not address states' unique circumstances, on this issue or any others," Governor Herbert said. "We must recognize the differences that exist throughout the country and develop customized solutions to healthcare reform that addresses the needs of our citizens."

Contact
Paul Murphy
Utah Attorney General's Office:
(801) 538-1892
pmurphy@utah.gov

Utah will join several states in a lawsuit challenging the health care reform legislation passed by the U. S. House of Representatives Sunday evening.

“This health care reform bill includes an unprecedented mandate that requires every U.S. citizen to buy health insurance or face a penalty. This mandate and other provisions violate the U.S. Constitution and infringe on individual and state rights,” says Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. “This lawsuit will help make sure the rights and the interests of American citizens are protected."

The Attorneys General of Utah, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington have all agreed to file the lawsuit if the President signs this bill into law. Other states are expected to join in the litigation.

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Contact: Rep. Carl Wimmer
801-608-4763
Email: cwimmer@utah.gov

**For immediate release**

UTAH PATRICK HENRY CAUCUS UNANINMOUSLY SUPPORTS A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN ORDER TO STOP THE FEDERAL HEALTH CARE BILL

Leading state sovereignty caucus strongly opposes the federal health care bill and supports lawsuits based on two violations of the U.S. Constitution.

The Patrick Henry Caucus adopted a unanimous position Wednesday, December 23, 2009, to oppose the Health Care Reform Bills, and to support a lawsuit against the federal government in order to stop the national health care bill from becoming law.

Calling the law unconstitutional, The Patrick Henry Caucus, which is comprised of legislators from both the Utah House of Representatives and the Utah Senate, vows to fight the federal law on multiple fronts. The Patrick Henry Caucus has an opt-out provision drafted and ready for presentation to the Utah Legislature next month. The opt-out would make it illegal for Utah agencies to implement any portion of the new federal law. The Caucus is calling on the State of Utah to join in with other States and take the lead on filing a lawsuit to stop the bill, should it receive final approval.

The Caucus believes the law is unconstitutional in at least two respects. First, the law unfairly gives preferential treatment to residents of Nebraska as a result of efforts by Senate Democrats to court the vote of Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson. The Caucus believes that this preferential treatment violates principles of due process and equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Second, the law amounts to an excess of Congress’s enumerated powers inasmuch as it requires every American to acquire health insurance. This legislation marks the first time in history that Congress has required every single American to purchase a particular good or service, and cannot be reconciled with the notion that Congress possesses only those limited powers granted by the Constitution.

The Patrick Henry Caucus calls on the leaders from all States to join in the effort to file a lawsuit against the federal government in order to stop this wrongheaded piece of legislation. We must not allow Congress to commandeer one sixth of our nation’s fragile economy while simultaneously undermining the authority of the States.

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PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail

JCT Confirms Failure to Comply with Democrats’ Mandate Can Lead to 5 Years in Jail

Friday, November 06, 2009

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”

Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:

“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]


“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]


Criminal penalties

Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:

• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.

“The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.

According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.

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The Hill Report
A Weekly Newsletter from Congressman Pete Sessions

Week of November 1 – November 7, 2009

Tonight, I voted against a government takeover of your health care. I have heard the message loud and clear: the majority of 32ndDistrict residents (My addition: neither do the rest of hardworking Americans) do not want higher costs, fewer options, and government interference between patients and their doctors.

So it’s a sad day for America. Ignoring the undeniable opposition of the American people, House Democrats placed their partisan political agenda over personal decision-making and passed a government takeover of health care by a vote of 220 - 215.

From criminalizing non-compliance of insurance mandates to establishing 118 new bureaucracies to control health care inAmerica, Speaker Pelosi’s 2,032-page health care reform bill tramples on the freedom and individual liberty upon which our nation was founded:

• $250,000 fine and 5 years in Jail—Maximum sentence for an American guilty of not purchasing government-approved health coverage
• 5.5 Million—Number of jobs that could be lost as a result of taxes on businesses that cannot afford to provide health coverage, according to a model by President Obama’s Economic Advisor
• $729.5 Billion—Total new taxes on small businesses, individuals, and employers who cannot afford to provide coverage that meets federal bureaucrats’ standards
• $1.055 Trillion—New federal spending of your tax dollars for a government takeover of health care
• 114 Million—Number of individuals who could lose their current coverage under the bill’s government-run health plan, according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group
• 43—Entitlement programs the bill creates, expands, or extends
• 118—Additional offices, bureaus, commissions, programs, and bureaucracies the bill creates over and above the entitlement expansions
• 3,425—Uses of the word “shall,” representing new duties for bureaucrats and mandates on individuals, businesses, and States
• 2017—Year Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be exhausted—an entitlement crisis exacerbated by the bill, which cuts nearly $450 Billion from Medicare
  

I am appalled by this blatant attack on American freedom. Every American should be outraged.

Turning the House of Representatives into a graveyard for good ideas, House Democrats voted down House Republicans’ common-sense health care reform alternative that would lower health care premiums and increase access to affordable, high-quality care – without adding to the national debt.

Totaling only 219 pages, the alternative health reform bill includes coverage for pre-existing conditions, institutes real medical liability reform, enhances Health Savings Accounts, enables large insurance pools and purchasing across state lines, and provides incentives for states to reduce costs and increase insurance.

In fact, on Wednesday the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the House Republican health care alternative bill could lower health care premiums by 10 percent and reduce the national deficit by $68 Billion over the next 10 years.

The American people want lower health care costs, and that is exactly what the Republican alternative would deliver. Instead of an unsustainable trillion-dollar government-run health care program, our plan would reduce the national debt and demonstrates the effectiveness of fiscally-responsible health care reform.

I voted in favor of this patient-centered reform that would preserve individual choice and access to the best quality care in America. Yet, House Democrats rejected the opportunity to provide real reform, voting down the alternative bill by a vote of 258 to 176.

In the end, Speaker Pelosi’s bill wasn’t about quality health care for all Americans – it was about advancing a radical, liberal agenda intent on expanding government control and diminishing the free enterprise system.

I believe that the American people will hold House Democrats accountable for their vote for government-controlled health care. I stand with the American people in this fight. Together, we must defeat the Pelosi health care bill and bring about true reform that provides every American access to quality health care of their choice.

Have a good weekend.
Sincerely,

Pete Sessions

Are you kidding me? I thought this was to help the pour and downtrodden of the nation to have healthcare? I thought this was to take care of Americans too pour or too damned lazy to work, to have healthcare? How are they to afford it if they are tossed in jail for not having government run insurance? How are they to afford it when they get out and are working a dead-end, minimum wage job to pay the fine, which would be the equivalent of using a thimble full of water on a raging forest fire.

Nancy Pelosi has become the biggest pariah this nation has seen and the Democrats are dancing around like minions leaping gleefully around the bonfire of our rights and freedoms, and singing, "All hail to Queen Nancy." She, with her viciously botoxed face simply smiles and bows her head to her loyal subjects while inwardly cackling that Americans will now pay the price for the nation she has come to hate so much. Her partner in crime, Harry Reid, now has the ball in his court and will soon take the side of Nancy Pelosi as two of the most hated people in America.

Oh yes, liberal politicians, all you who have participated in the dismantling of the Constitution, I have made it my personal mission to not only see you tossed out of office, but to have individual cases of treason levied against each of you. So laugh it up while you can, your days are drawing to an end.

We must:

Inundate the Senate with phone calls, every single Senator, at let them know how dangerous a "yes" vote on this legislation will be. Let them know how dangerous it will be if they combine their travesties of justice and healthcare with Pelosi's.

Also, contact every single congressman who voted for HR3962 and let them know you have now made it your personal mission to make sure they never serve another term in office for betraying the American people with this healthcare legislation.

This is what I am going to do and ask all I know to do. In the meantime, look at available candidates, study them and see which are the true Americans who love and will defend the Constitution, the Republic and remain fiscally conservative. Here in our race, with Mark Shurtleff dropping out, I’ve been on the phone day and night looking to see who will replace Mark in this race. It is looking like a couple of men will be stepping up, one of which is a strong possibility. I have been assured by those I trust that I will really like this man. I am sitting down to meet with him this next week and grill the guy. I’ll look into him and let you know what I think. He might be the best answer to Mark dropping out.

For the House, Jason Chaffetz is still the best answer although I am still not 100% comfortable with him. Until the man has some power we won’t know his true measure. But for now he is voting correctly on just about every issue.

And last, but certainly not least, educate your children about the real America and not the America the liberals are painting. Teach them to love the Constitution. Teach them to know the founding fathers and why they chose a Republic form of government over a straight Democracy. Teach them to realize the wisdom in being fiscally conservative, defending the unborn, defending the Constitution, defending the America God entrusted to us.

I am going to start taking Sheryl Devereaux's Constitution classes (they are free) when she starts them over in a couple of weeks. And then keep up with everything else I am doing.

We, as in America, are truly in this position now because we have an uneducated populace as to who America really is and what our purpose is. We have to change that if we hope to save her, and we will save her!

I leave with you with a quote I've posted on this blog before by President Harold B. Lee:

"Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail. This is the cradle of humanity, where life on this earth began in the Garden of Eden. This is the place of the new Jerusalem. This is the place that the Lord said is favored above all other nations in all the world. This is the place where the Savior will come to His temple. This is the favored land in all the world. Yes, I repeat, men may fail, but this nation won't fail. I have faith in America; you and I must have faith in America, if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are living in a day when we must pay heed to these challenges.

"I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world. This is the favored land. This is the land of our forefathers. It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through." (Ye Are the Light of the World, Harold B. Lee, p350-51)

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.