Dear Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor,
We the undersigned organizations and individuals urge House Republicans to include language fully defunding Obamacare when they consider their upcoming legislation to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2014.
On October 1, 2013, open enrollment begins for Obamacare's massive new entitlements, including the new federally-subsidized exchanges and the Medicaid expansion. October 1st is also the beginning of the new fiscal year, meaning that Congress must pass a bill funding the government by that date to avoid a government shutdown. The excuses for not pulling out all the legislative stops to repeal Obamacare are over. The Supreme Court failed to strike down the entire law when it had the opportunity, and the 2012 election, which focused little on Obamacare, did not yield a new President or a new Senate majority.
Despite these setbacks, the ultimate "power of the purse" still resides in the House, and the House will soon act to fund the government. In doing so, the House should include language ensuring that no more taxpayer dollars can be used to implement Obamacare. This funding prohibition should include all Obamacare funding streams, both discretionary and mandatory, and it should eliminate funding for Obamacare's new entitlements. This will effectively halt implementation and enforcement of the law in its entirety, and will give the President and Senate Democrats a choice: Continue funding the government, or shut down the government on behalf of an unpopular law that they have admitted will not work and cannot be enforced as written.
Obamacare interferes with the doctor-patient relationship. It continues to raise health insurance premiums and explode the national debt. And, even as our economy continues to struggle, the law's new job-killing rules, regulations, and taxes will only continue to ratchet up as time goes on. The Obama Administration is pulling out all the stops - legal and illegal - to create a new constituency for this law and make it a permanent fixture on the American fabric. The best and last chance for House Republicans to stand up and thwart this law before its new entitlements kick in is during the upcoming funding debate, and the House should live up to the moment and pass a bill funding the government but denying any funding for Obamacare.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Needham CEO, Heritage Action for America
Chris Chocola, President, Club for Growth
Matt Kibbe, President and CEO, FreedomWorks
Tom McClusky, Senior Vice President, Family Research Council
Erick Erickson, Editor-in-Chief, Redstate.com
The Honorable Edwin Meese III, former Attorney General, President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable David McIntosh, former U.S. Representative, Indiana
Al Cardenas, Chairman, American Conservative Union
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
Brent Bozell, Chairman, ForAmerica
Jenny Beth Martin, Co-Founder, Tea Party Patriots
Morton Blackwell, Chairman, The Weyrich Lunch
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., former Domestic Advisor, President Ronald Reagan.
Duane Parde, President and COO, National Taxpayers Union
The Honorable Jim Ryun, Chairman, Madison Project
Heather Higgins, President, Independent Women's Forum
Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment
David N. Bossie, President, Citizens United
Phyllis Schlafly, Founder and President, Eagle Forum
Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
The Honorable Alfred S. Regnery, former Publisher, The American Spectator
Penny Nance, President and CEO, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
Ken Hoagland, Chairman, Restore America's Voice
Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Nathan Paul Mehrens, President, Americans for Limited Government
Amy Kremer, Chairman, Tea Party Express
John Tate, President, Campaign For Liberty
David Williams, President, Taxpayer Protection Alliance
Chris Littleton, Ohio Rising
Bob Adams, Founder and President, Revive America USA
Brian C. Baker, President, Ending Spending
Gary Marx, Executive Director, Faith and Freedom Coalition
Mike Stenhouse, CEO, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Myron Ebell, Director, Freedom Action
Beverly Gossage, Director, HSA Benefits Consulting
Susan Carleson, Chairman, CEO, and Treasurer, American Civil Rights Union
Christopher Malagisi, President, Young Conservatives Coalition
Tom Donelson, Chairman, Americas PAC
Lew Uhler, Founder and President, National Tax Limitation Committee
William L. Walton, Rappahannock Ventures LLC
Elaine Donnelly, President, Center for Military Readiness
Kristan Hawkins, President, Students for Life of America
Andresen Blom, Senior Strategist, Center for Civic Virtue
C. Preston Noell III, President, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Dr. Juliette Madrigal-Dersch, President, American Association of Physicians and Surgeons
Ralph Benko, Contributor, Forbes.com
Gregory T. Angelo, Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans
Ron Robinson, President, Young America's Foundation
Betsy McCaughey, Chairman, Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths
Lee Beaman, Businessman, Nashville, TN
Robert K. Fischer, President, Fischer Furniture, Inc.
Organizations listed for identification purposes only.