Contact: Bill G. Smith, 608-255-6083 or Jack Mozloom, 609-989-8777
Madison – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today will argue in federal court that the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violates the US Constitution. Bill G. Smith, the organization’s state Director, said the case has profound implications for small businesses in Wisconsin.
“The mandates, penalties and regulatory requirements of this law are potentially overwhelming for many of the small businesses in Wisconsin that are struggling to keep their doors open,” said Smith. “If this law stands it will drive up the cost of insurance for everyone, punish small businesses that cannot afford to purchase insurance and smother our economy under an avalanche new debt and higher expenses.”
NFIB is the only business organization in the country to have joined 20 states in a lawsuit against the measure. While costs to small businesses are staggering, the organization’s main objection is a matter of constitutional principle.
“We don’t believe that the federal government has any authority in the Constitution to mandate that private citizens purchase a commercial service or product,” said Smith. “This is an unprecedented power-grab by the federal government that we believe tramples on individual liberty.”
Karen Harned, executive director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, will be making oral arguments today in federal court in Pensacola, Florida, in which she will urge the judge to rule the law unconstitutional. Below his her statement:
“On behalf of small business owners nationwide, NFIB will argue today in federal court that the individual mandate in the healthcare law – which forces Americans to buy private health insurance or pay a penalty – is fundamentally unconstitutional.
“Forcing Americans to purchase a private product, just because they are alive, is simply not a power granted to Congress. With this law, the federal government has attempted to stretch the authority granted to Congress through the Commerce and Necessary and Proper Clauses of the constitution. But they have been unable to cite a single case supporting their arguments. The fact is that the Supreme Court has never upheld a law like this – one that applies the Commerce Clause to decisions made by Americans to refrain from participating in a certain market.
“The government should not regulate citizens into action. If our decisions to do nothing can be regulated, then there will effectively be no limits on what Congress can force Americans to do. That’s why this case is about much more than just healthcare. It is about the limits of power established by the constitution.
“No one needs healthcare reform more than America’s small business community, but an unconstitutional law that sets a dangerous precedent for Congress with unlimited power, combined with an onslaught of new taxes, paperwork burdens and fewer health insurance options, is not reform that small businesses can accept.
“Because the healthcare law is built upon an unconstitutional mandate, we urge Judge Vinson to rule that the entire law should be invalidated and the government should be stopped from enforcing this unconstitutional law until this matter is ultimately settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
