Supreme Court Confirms Health Mandate is a Tax Increase

Washington, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold President Obama's Health Care Law, ruling that the individual mandate provision is legal as a tax on the American people.  Idaho Senator Mike Crapo issued the following statement:

"Today's decision is very disappointing, and it is not the ruling that the American people wanted.  Americans overwhelmingly want solutions that deliver what they need-access to high-quality, affordable health care.  This law did not fix the rising cost of health care. 

During the debate on the Health Care Law, President Obama pledged to the American people that 'no family making less than $250,000 would see their taxes increase-not their income taxes, payroll taxes, capital gains taxes, not any of their taxes.'  In response, I offered an amendment to strip the bill of any provision that would violate that pledge.  Despite receiving bipartisan support, my amendment was voted down, and the Court's ruling today further confirms that this bill violated the President's pledge.  The Congressional Budget Office has stated that more than 75 percent of the families who will be forced to pay the new individual mandate tax are the middle-class families the President pledged to protect.

This law is bad for the American people.  It fails on promises to lower health costs and premiums for working families.  It fails on promises for American people to keep their health care plan if they liked it, and millions of people have learned they cannot.  It increases the burden for small businesses to hire workers.  This law threatens our country's financial strength and the American way of life.

As a member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Gang of 6, I will continue to work on comprehensive tax reform to address our nation's health care problems.  This ruling has put these issues squarely in front of Congress and the American people.  With increased public awareness and clarity, we can improve our health care system and reform our tax code accordingly.  Today's ruling makes it even more important to do so."