Broun: Today Is a Sad Day for Liberty

U.S. Congressman Paul Broun, M.D. (GA-10) today released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold President Obama’s healthcare law, including the individual mandate, in a 5-4 decision:

“Today is a sad day for liberty.  The Court’s misguided decision is an attack on freedom, an insult to our Constitution, and it will ultimately destroy the best healthcare system in the world.  Chief Justice Roberts once said that the Supreme Court’s job is to apply the law – ‘to call balls and strikes, not to pitch or bat.’  He couldn’t have been more right in saying so, and he couldn’t have been more wrong by choosing to circumvent the Constitution this morning.  Even worse, I fear that the High Court has opened Pandora’s box by blatantly disregarding the law, and there will no longer be any real limits to what the federal government will be able to force the American people to do. 

“President Obama and Democrats in Congress promised the American people that their healthcare law wouldn’t raise taxes.  They lied.  Today the Supreme Court defined Obamacare as exactly that – a tax increase on every man, woman, and child in the United States. 

“As a physician, I can tell you that if Obamacare takes full effect – patients won’t be able to afford health insurance, medical practices will be controlled by the government, employers will stop providing coverage for their workers, and Medicare and Medicaid recipients will be left high and dry.  That’s why despite the Court’s liberal ruling, I will continue working to completely repeal Obamacare.

“It’s true that our healthcare system is in dire need of reform, but President Obama’s idea of putting everyone in one pool and handing it over to the federal government is not the way to fix it.  More than fifty percent of Americans think that members of Congress who are doctors and nurses should write new healthcare legislation, and that’s exactly what I’ve been working on in Washington.  In just 51 pages, my OPTION Act will make healthcare cheaper for everyone, provide coverage for all Americans, and save Medicare from going broke.  This replacement bill gives the people back their right to make their own healthcare decisions, and I will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of Georgians and all Americans until something like it passes.”