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December 31, 2009 in Idaho
Gov. Otter threatens suit over health care reform
BOISE – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter said he may sue to stop federal health care reform, calling U.S. House and Senate bills unconstitutional and too costly.
Otter sent letters Wednesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, telling them he’s considering legal action to keep the federal government from imposing “a crushing unfunded mandate” on state and local governments.
He questioned Congress’ constitutional power to mandate health care coverage and contended reforms will cost taxpayers – and eventually their kids – too much.
Otter also objected to Medicaid funding deals that benefit Nebraska and Louisiana that U.S. Senate Democrats struck before the Christmas Eve vote to help win support from those states’ lawmakers.
Thirteen Republican attorneys general, including Idaho’s Lawrence Wasden, said separately they also object to the deal with Nebraska, already called the “Cornhusker Kickback,” and threatened a court fight if it isn’t stripped from reforms.
© Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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tinybobidaho on December 31 at 8:56 a.m.
This health care bill is riddled with unconstitutional deals and clauses. I hope people are not so desperate for any kind of health care that they are willing to sacrifice the very ideals this country was built upon. The left is digging their own political grave by persuing this awful legislation.
spokanada on December 31 at 9:54 a.m.
The people are desperate yet the republicants won’t work to improve the bill. It’s to easy for them to just vote no on everything.
The people’s desperation, the money from lobbyists, and the republicans refusal to work on this bill have resulted in the health care bill that will eventually be passed.
spokanecougar on December 31 at 11:47 a.m.
For one, this is not even the final bill, so to go off spouting that you will sue to stop this is premature and shows the Republicans will do anything to just say no.
Also, this goes to show that Republicans do not read the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office report that said this bill will actually LOWER the debt and the health care costs from their current levels, so either the Republicans cannot read or they just are choosing not to do their job, both of which are pretty damn scary. .
Please all the Republicans are proving is they are saying No just because it is the Democrats that is trying to fix health care. They had their chance with Bush and his cronies when they were running Washington and all levels of the government but they instead decided to spend our money in Iraq and not in the United States and on its own people.
One more thing, if you idiot Republicans are so against everything the government does and so against the government running anything then STOP ELECTING THE SAME IDIOTS TO OFFICE!!!! You want change, stop voting for the worthless Cathy McMorris-Rogers, stop voting for the lazy Maria Cantwell. This is not China, you actually have a say in your government by voting. If you did not vote, then SHUT THE F*CK UP. Because the people who actually did get off their butts and vote on election day voted OVERWHELMINGLY to kick out the Republicans and their followers last November because they had proven they could not and would not do anything that the American people wanted. So what do they now do instead, after the voters SHOWED they are not happy with the Republican party and their policies they decide to stop any effort the Democrats try to put forth to help people. Yes, that is really going to endear you to the American public Republican Party.