Historic U.S. Supreme Court arguments this week on the Affordable Care Act
March 25, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear ninety minutes of oral argument in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, on the question whether the Anti-Injunction Act bars the Court’s review of the challenges to the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.
The Anti-Injunction Act, 28 USC § 2283 – Stay of State court proceedings.
CORRECTION: The provision at issue is 26 U.S.C. § 7421, Prohibition of Suits to Restrain Assessment or Collection:
(a) Tax
Except as provided in sections 6015 (e), 6212 (a) and (c), 6213 (a), 6225 (b), 6246 (b), 6330 (e)(1), 6331 (i), 6672 (c), 6694 (c), and 7426 (a) and (b)(1), 7429 (b), and 7436, no suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person, whether or not such person is the person against whom such tax was assessed.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the Act bars pre-enforcement challenges to tax laws.
In this appeal, the provisions of the Affordable Care Act pertaining to the individual mandate do not go into effect until 2014. Arguably, there is no plaintiff who has standing to demonstrate immediate and irreperable harm to be enjoined. Courts are prohibited from rendering advisory opinions. The issue is not ripe for adjudication. These jurisdictional issues could provide the Court an easy out to punt on the Affordable Care Act until after 2014 when the individual mandate provisions take effect and a plaintiff may have standing to present an issue ripe for adjudication and demonstrate an immediate and irreperable harm to be enjoined.
On Tuesday the Court will hear two hours of oral argument in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, on the constitutionality of the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act. These arguments focus on the Court's precedents pertaining to Commerce Clause jurisprudence.
Help get the Quality Education and Jobs Act on the ballot
March 24, 2012
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by David Safier The AEN (Arizona Education Network) is one of the best friends Arizona education has. Together with others, the group has created a ballot measure, the Quality Education and Jobs Act, to guarantee increased funding for our schools, which now have the lowest funding per student in the country. They need volunteers to … Read more
How Many Other Trayvon Martin’s Have There Been?
March 24, 2012
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Posted by Bob Lord I've heard all of the right questions being raised in the aftermath the Trayvon Martin tragedy. Except one. This incident didn't even get noticed for weeks after it occurred. If the news cycle were more crowded, or if a reporter or two were less aggressive, or if someone with information had not spoken … Read more
Obama Courts the Web Geek Vote
March 24, 2012
By Michael Bryan I was recently looking at the President's campaign website, BarackObama.com. There was something in the design that I liked, so I took a peek at the page's HTML. I was surprised to find this in the code: Seems Obama is gunning for every vote; even web geeks looking at his site's code.
Reminder: LD 28 St. Patrick’s Day Annual Fundraiser this Sunday
March 24, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Thanks to the Arizona Democratic Party scheduling a Special State Committee Meeting at the same date and time as the originally scheduled event, LD 28 rescheduled its Annual St. Patrick's Day Fundraiser to Sunday, March 25. This is the must-attend annual campaign kickoff event in Pima County for candidates running for office … Read more
Carmona on Maddow Demonstrates a Key Reason to Nominate Him
March 23, 2012
Posted by Michael Bryan
Richard Carmona went on the Maddow Show to stand up for women's reproductive health privacy rights. BlueMeanie also posted on this appearance.
Carmona's iron-clad credibility on health issues and his national stature allows him excellent access to media to counter the GOP's War on Women in Arizona. It's a powerful argument for his nomination given the record of the GOP's likely nominee, Jeff Flake, on these issues.
See the video below the fold…
ObamaCares, not Obamacare
March 23, 2012
By Michael Bryan The Republicans are masters of neuro-linguistic programming, mostly because they are much more disciplined in their communication strategy. That stupid "Democrat" versus "Democratic" thing really annoys me, and it works: I see that 'mistake' being made in the press all the time now. So, the GOP's messaging strategy has been to label … Read more
Second Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act
March 23, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
From Megan Slack at the White House blog, The Affordable Care Act at Two Years:
Two years ago today, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, giving hardworking, middle-class families the health care security they deserve. Health reform requires that insurance plans cover preventive services to help people stay healthy, prohibits insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of annual or lifetime limits placed on care, and discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions.
By 2014 when the law is fully implemented, people will be able to purchase private insurance coverage through new state-based markets called exchanges, which will offer a way to get insurance that isn’t provided by—or tied to—an employer. Americans will have the security of knowing they don't have to worry about losing or finding coverage if they're laid off, change jobs, or are self-employed. And further patient protections will take effect: insurers won’t be able to deny care to anyone based on a pre-existing condition, or limit the amount of care they’ll cover over a person’s lifetime.
