Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement in response to the Obama administration’s argument in federal court that the provision in ObamaCare forcing every American to purchase health insurance is actually a tax. In an interview with ABC News last year, President Obama himself said that this individual mandate was not a tax.

“When it comes to an unconstitutional individual health insurance mandate, President Obama just cannot seem to make up his mind,” said Congressman Price. “During his primary fight with Hillary Clinton, candidate Obama claimed to oppose a mandate forcing every American to purchase health insurance, but he quickly turned around and championed the exact same mandate in ObamaCare. Last September, the President argued on national television that his individual mandate was not a tax. Yet today, his Justice Department is arguing in federal court that this mandate really is a tax on every single American just for being alive. No wonder the American people have lost faith in this administration.

“The unconstitutional individual mandate is hardly President Obama’s only flip-flop. ObamaCare hits families at all income levels with the cost of new and higher taxes – a direct contradiction of his campaign promises. It is a job-killer that completely fails to address Americans’ concern about the rising cost of health care. For the sake of future generations, it must be repealed and replaced with reforms that empower patients with lower costs, more choices, and better competition.”