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[Pages S226-S227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 18--AUTHORIZING THE SENATE LEGAL COUNSEL TO REPRESENT
THE SENATE IN TEXAS V. UNITED STATES NO. 4:18-CV-00167-O (N.D. TEX.)
Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Casey, Mr. Tester, Mr.
Brown, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Warner, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Baldwin, Ms.
Cantwell, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Reed, Ms. Harris, Ms. Hirono, Ms.
Duckworth, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Hassan, Mr. King, Mr. Markey, Mr. Schumer,
Mr. Leahy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Udall, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Smith, Mr. Booker,
Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Coons, Mr. Schatz, Mr.
Menendez, Mr. Jones, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Warren, Mr.
Murphy, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr.
Merkley, Mr. Peters, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Sinema, and Mr.
Carper) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Rules and Administration:
S. Res. 18
Whereas Texas, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona,
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Paul LePage
(Governor of Maine), Mississippi (by and through Governor
Phil Bryant), Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and
individual plaintiffs have filed suit in the United States
District Court for the Northern District of Texas, arguing
that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public
Law 111-148; 124 Stat. 119) and the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152; 124 Stat.
1029) are unconstitutional and should be enjoined, by
asserting that the requirement under those Acts to maintain
minimum essential coverage (commonly known as the
``individual responsibility provision'') in section 5000A of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is unconstitutional
following the amendment of that provision by the Act to
provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the
concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018
(Public Law 115-97; 131 Stat. 2054) (commonly known as the
``Tax Cuts and Jobs Act'');
Whereas these State and individual plaintiffs also seek to
strike down the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act as not severable from the individual responsibility
provision;
Whereas, on June 7, 2018, the Department of Justice refused
to defend the constitutionality of the amended individual
responsibility provision, despite the well-established duty
of the Department to defend Federal statutes where reasonable
arguments can be made in their defense;
Whereas the Department of Justice not only refused to
defend the amended individual responsibility provision, but
it affirmatively argued that this provision is
unconstitutional and that the provisions of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act guaranteeing issuance of
insurance coverage regardless of health status or pre-
existing conditions (commonly known as the ``guaranteed issue
provision''), sections 2702, 2704, and 2705(a) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-1, 300gg-3, 300gg-4(a)),
and prohibiting discriminatory premium rates (commonly known
as the ``community rating provision''), sections 2701 and
2705(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300gg(a)(1), 300gg-4(b)), must now be struck down as not
severable from the individual responsibility provision; and
Whereas the district court in Texas v. United States, No.
4:18-cv-00167-O (N.D. Tex.) issued an order on December 14,
2018 declaring that the individual responsibility provision
in section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is
unconstitutional and that all the provisions of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act are not severable and
therefore are invalid: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate Legal Counsel is authorized to
represent the Senate in Texas v. United States, No. 4:18-cv-
00167-O (N.D. Tex.), including seeking to--
(1) intervene as a party in the matter and any appellate or
related proceedings; and
(2) defend all provisions of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010, the amendments made by those Acts
to other provisions of law, and any amendments to such
provisions, including
[[Page S227]]
the provisions ensuring affordable health coverage for those
with pre-existing conditions.
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