Source: Conservative.org
President Obama’s health care law “violates the U.S. Constitution in its very DNA” starting with the individual mandate, Grace-Marie Turner, president Galen Institute, told audience members during a panel discussion held as part of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). But the individual mandate is just the beginning, she said. ObamaCare also includes the 15-member Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which is not accountable to the elected branches, Turner explained.
“Fifteen unelected technocrats will make decisions about spending hundreds of millions of dollars,” she said. Turner also discussed ObamaCare’s assault on First Amendment freedoms.
Under the ObamaCare legislation, every Catholic institution larger than a single church — and even including some single churches — must pay for contraceptives, sterilization, and morning-after abortifacients for its employees. This directly conflicts with Catholic teachings. The Obama mandate also applies to other faith-based organizations. The administration has advanced a possible compromise, but Turner views this as a false ploy.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, served as the moderator. He views ObamaCare as “an unprecedented government power grab.” Unless the law is repealed, the U.S. could be left with a “constitution in name only.” Fitton also quoted from a federal judge who ruled against the health care law. The U.S. was founded at least in part as a result of opposition to a British mandate to buy tea, the judge pointed out. If the U.S. Congress can now penalize an individual for refusing to buy health care, it will be difficult to set a limitation on federal power, Fitton warned.
Dr. John Goodman, president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, said the younger people have good reason to be concerned about how ObamaCare will impact their long-term financial security. The health care mandate involves expenses that will grow “at twice the rate of income,” he said.
“By the time today’s college students reach retirement, they will have nothing to eat and nothing to wear, but really great health care. That’s the path ObamaCare is going to lock us into. It is clearly not a sustainable path.”
Jim Martin, chairman of 60 Plus, discussed the differences between his organization and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). He has a bumper sticker that describes the group as the “American Association Against Retired Persons.”
“They are a fortune 500 insurance conglomerate, but we are selling nothing but less taxes, lower government and adherence to United States Constitution,” he said.