AUSTIN – Texas Public Policy Foundation’s President and CEO Brooke Rollins, Center for the Health Care Policy Director John Davidson, and Center for the American Future Director Robert Henneke issued the following statements on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the King v. Burwell case:
“The Supreme Court ruling in King v. Burwell undermines the U.S. Constitution and the ideals of America—that we are a nation ruled by laws, not by unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. If the Affordable Care Act was not working the way Congress thought it would, it should have gone back and fixed the law,” said Rollins. “Instead, the Court has affirmed that laws can mean whatever the White House wants them to mean.”
“The consequences of the Burwell decision are far-reaching,” said Davidson. “No longer must elected representatives pass actual laws. It’s enough, now, for Congress to express a desire for a policy outcome and leave the details to an unelected bureaucracy—even when those details involve billions of dollars in taxes and spending, strict mandates and penalties, and government control over vast swaths of the economy.
“The problem is that you can’t vote bureaucrats out of office. Over the past century Americans have seen the gradual replacement of government limited by law with the unlimited rule of administrative edicts issued by unelected officials. With Burwell, this transformation is all but complete.”
“Justice Scalia, writing the dissent for the three conservatives remaining on the Supreme Court, hits the nail on the head: 'Words no longer have meaning,’” said Henneke. The end result of the majority in King v. Burwell is to eliminate the checks and balances between the three branches of government found in the United States Constitution. Today, the Supreme Court granted the executive branch carte blanche authority to act by fiat and decree. The rule of law was set aside today; as a result, Americans have less freedom."
To schedule an interview with Mrs. Rollins, Mr. Davidson, or Mr. Henneke please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Brooke L. Rollins is President and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
John Davidson is Director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Honorable Robert Henneke is Director of the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.