Obamacare: What Conservatives Should Do Next

Blog Articles · Jul 9, 2013 · Healthcare

Guest Post by Chris Jacobs, The Heritage Foundation

Given last week's devastating announcement that the Administration cannot implement Obamacare's employer mandate next year without costing jobs, many conservatives have pondered the best course of action for Congress to take in response. The strategic options are many, but the choice should be clear: Congress should refuse to spend a single dime implementing this law.

For instance, some have called for repealing or delaying the individual mandate-because struggling families should get the same break big businesses received when the Administration delayed the employer mandate last week. Others have called for delaying the law for a year, or for defunding IRS efforts to implement Obamacare.

Repealing only some portions of the statute-for instance, the individual mandate, or IRS enforcement-will allow other portions more fully to take root. And without language fully defunding the law, delaying portions of Obamacare will only give the Administration more time to try and "fix" the technical glitches hampering creation of Exchanges. That's why the best "delay"-and the only effective one-is a full defunding of the statute, one that forces all federal bureaucrats to put down their pens and stop crushing the American economy with Obamacare mandates and regulations.

Only a full, complete, and total defunding of Obamacare accomplishes all of these goals. Conservatives should keep their eyes on the prize and focus on the ultimate objective: Ensuring Congress does not spend a single dime on Obamacare.