If the Supreme Court overturns the 2010 healthcare reform law later this month, as many expect, President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress will be justifiably chastised, says conservative stalwart Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.
“If the court throws it out, I think it’s a well-deserved slap in the face to the president and the Congress to make us think that what we’re here for is to honor our oath of office, which is the pledge to defend the Constitution, which limits what we can do,” he tells
Politico.
Congress and Obama exceeded their authority in passing a law that requires individuals to buy health insurance, DeMint says. And they both need to be shown what happens when they overstep their authority.
“I think it could be the best thing that could ever happen to this Congress, where we might sort through again what it is that we’re really supposed to do, instead of trying to run energy and transportation and health care and banking and all the aspects of the American economy,” DeMint says.
If the Supreme Court doesn’t act to repeal Obamacare, Republicans in Congress should, he maintains. But the GOP shouldn’t act in haste to replace the reform program with its own.
“We should not make the mistake of trying to do something immediately,” DeMint argues. “What we need to do is have a lot of hearings. We need to look into what’s the proper way to move toward individually-owned health plans, not to discourage employers from offering plans, but to make sure that every individual can get a plan that they can own and keep, whether it’s from their employer or from the open market.”
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