In this week's edition of e-news...

SCOTUS Rules on Healthcare Bill

Fast and Furious Investigation Advances 

SCOTUS Rules on Healthcare Bill

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court yesterday upheld President Obama’s healthcare law, not on the merits of the policy, but on the constitutionality of the new healthcare tax on Americans who do not own insurance.  

The most controversial element of the 2010 law, the ‘individual mandate,’ requires individuals to carry insurance or pay a fine. While the Supreme Court said this provision went beyond constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce, a majority of the justices found the provision to be constitutional under congressional power of taxation.

Congressman Tim Murphy, who voted against the President’s healthcare bill, said lawmakers still had to focus on reforms to bring down healthcare costs because none of the provisions in the bill address the root problems in our healthcare system.

“The bill that was rushed through Congress and signed into law was unpopular, unworkable and unsustainable,” said Congressman Murphy. “It was not designed to deliver the kind of healthcare reforms Americans want and need. A healthcare tax is not healthcare reform. Our system needs to focus on providing high-quality care at an affordable price for Americans.” To read Rep. Murphy’s proposals to make healthcare more accessible, read his Principles of Healthcare Reform here.

Rep. Murphy discussed the Supreme Court’s healthcare ruling with his Doctors Caucus colleagues.

Right now, individuals are not required to have health insurance. But beginning in 2014, most will be required to have it or pay a fine. For individuals, the penalty would start at $95 a year and work up to 2.5 percent of income.

Nearly 160 million Americans receive health insurance through their employers; but whether employer-based coverage will continue is unknown. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that nine million Americans could lose their employer-based coverage and be placed into the national exchange, despite the President’s promise that if you like your insurance you can keep it.

“Beyond full repeal of the bill, Congress must deliberate on what is truly needed — and is constitutionally sound — to fix our healthcare system rather than just raising taxes to finance it,” said Rep. Murphy. “We must provide the healthcare reforms the American people are demanding: a system that delivers the care you need, at a price you can afford, from a doctor you choose — without new taxes or a government takeover.”

In the opinion, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said it was not up to the court to debate the law’s merits. “Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices,” wrote Justice Roberts.
 
Read Rep. Murphy’s full statement on the Supreme Court ruling here.

Read Congressman Murphy’s ‘Six Principles of Healthcare Reform’ here.

To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on the healthcare law, please click here.

Fast and Furious Investigation Advances

For the past year and a half, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has repeatedly requested documents from the Justice Department (DOJ)  related to the botched ‘Fast and Furious’ operation. Under this program, DOJ officials knowingly refused to intercept 2,000 firearms sold to straw purchasers who in turn delivered the guns to Mexican drug criminals. Several of these weapons were used in the murder of American Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Of the 80,000 documents that the committee has requested, the Administration has delivered fewer than ten percent of them. With evidence revealing that high-ranking officials at the DOJ condoned the botched gun-running operation and were using the Fast and Furious debacle as a pretext for new gun control, the House moved forward to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to act on the congressional request to turn over information in the investigation.

The Oversight Committee has been specifically looking into a letter sent by Justice Department officials on February 4, 2011. The letter denied whistleblower allegations that guns in Operation Fast and Furious had been allowed to “walk” to Mexico and defended the Operation itself. Ten months later, on December 2, 2011, the Justice Department formally withdrew this denial and acknowledged that Fast and Furious was “fundamentally flawed.”  Just last Wednesday, President Obama asserted executive privilege over documents which would permanently deny the American people and the family of slain border patrol agent Terry the facts about the operation.

“Attorney General Eric Holder has repeatedly refused to provide the American people the true facts behind the botched ‘Fast and Furious’ program and for that Congress voted to hold him accountable,”  Rep. Murphy said on Thursday after voting in favor of contempt. “Mr. Holder still has the opportunity to avoid contempt by producing the documents requested by Chairman Issa and the Government Reform Committee—and I strongly encourage him to do so.”
 
As expected, the Justice Department moved today to shield Attorney General Eric Holder from prosecution after the House voted to hold him in contempt of Congress.

In related news, in a split decision (5-3) the Supreme Court decided Monday the federal government has the ultimate authority to decide who will be held on immigration charges and who will be deported. The Court agreed with a lower court ruling that found three sections of the Arizona law to be unconstitutional. The three sections of Arizona law struck down required illegal immigrants to register with the state, made it a crime to solicit work if here illegally, and would have authorized officers to make an arrest without a warrant if they had probable cause.

The court did, however, uphold a provision to require Arizona police to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws if “reasonable suspicion” exists that the person is in the United States illegally. This is the section of the bill which has been referred to by critics as the “papers please” provision, and would allow state or local officials to request the status of individuals who are under reasonable suspicion for committing a crime or offense.

Rep. Murphy responded to the ruling on Monday stating that, “the Supreme Court's decision on Arizona’s immigration law underscores the urgency with which we must address immigration enforcement, which is a duty and responsibility of the federal government. Facing a security crisis on the Mexican border, Arizona empowered its local police officers to protect their citizenry and do what the Administration has refused to do: enforce immigration law. While this ruling addresses the constitutional questions of the Arizona law, the larger issue of border security remains unresolved because this Administration has focused on suing states instead of working towards a solution to stop illegal entry at the border.”
 
To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on illegal immigration, please click here.
 
To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on the vote to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress, please click here.

Constituent Work Week Ahead

Next Monday marks the beginning of the constituent work week and Congressman Murphy will be back home in the 18th Congressional District. Just a reminder as we approach the 4th of July holiday— look for Rep. Murphy throughout the district and join him as we celebrate our nation's Independence.

Rep. Murphy in the News

• On June 25, Rep. Murphy joined Fox News’ America’s Newsroom to discuss the Supreme Court’s immigration ruling and the Supreme Court ruling on the President’s healthcare bill.
• On June 27, Murphy spoke with Rick Trader of the Conservative Commando Radio Show and Dimitri Vassilaros of KDKA radio about the pending SCOTUS ruling.
• On June 28, the Congressman addressed the Supreme Court’s ruling on the health care law with Fox Business Money , WPXI Pittsburgh, the Geraldo Rivera radio show,  the Washington Times radio show,  KQV radio and KDKA radio. Murphy also joined his colleagues from the Republican Doctors Caucus in a press conference to address what steps can be taken to make healthcare more affordable and accessible.

A live look at Congressman Murphy’s latest Telephone Townhall.