10:52
|
Lyle:
The
rejection of the Commerce Clause and Nec. and Proper Clause should be
understood as a major blow to Congress's authority to pass social
welfare laws. Using the tax code -- especially in the current political
environment -- to promote social welfare is going to be a very chancy
proposition.  |
10:53
|
Lyle:
Interesting,
at least to scholars, that while the mandate and its attached penalty
are a tax for purposes of its constitutionality, but not for the
Anti-Injunction Act. If it were a tax for AIA purposes, this case would
not have been decided re the mandate. |
10:55
|
Lyle:
For
all of those who second-guessed the Solicitor General's defense of ACA,
it might be worth noting that the tax defense of the mandate was,
indeed, an argument that the government lawyer did advance. |
10:56
Amy Howe:
Take
a quick look at Footnote 11, which is on page 44 of the slip opinion:
Those subject to the individual mandate may lawfully forgo health
insurance and pay higher taxes, or buy health insurance and pay lower
taxes. The only thing that they may not lawfully do is buy health
insurance and not pay the resulting tax.
10:57
Tom:
I
dissent from Lyle's view that the Commerce Clause ruling is a major
blow to social welfare legislation. I think that piece of the decision
will be read pretty narrowly.
10:59
|
Lyle:
The Court has now recessed. |
10:59
|
Amy Howe:
By
the way, the opinions collectively are a monster. The Chief's opinion
is 59 pages, Justice Ginsburg's opinion is 61 pages, the four dissenters
are 65 pages, followed by a short two-pager from Justice Thomas. You
do the math. |
11:00
|
Amy Howe:
Yes,
a commenter notes that the Chief Justice's opinion starts with a
mini-civics lesson -- definitely an awareness that this is one for the
ages. Reminded me of his opinion in Snyder v. Phelps, the funeral
protesters' case last Term. |
11:00
|
Lyle:
The
Court will now be in recess until October 1. However, a final list of
orders on pending case will be made public at 10 a.m. Friday. The blog
will cover those in full. They include a major case on cross-ownership
of broadcast stations and newspapers. |
11:01
|
Tom:
In
Amy's 10:56 -- typo: The only thing that they may not lawfully do is
not buy health insurance and not pay the resulting tax. |
11:01
|
Amy Howe:
From
the beginning of the Chief's opinion: "We do not consider whether the
Act embodies sound policies. That judgment is entrusted to the Nation's
elected leaders. We ask only whether Congress has the power under the
Constitution to enact the challenged provisions." |
11:04
|
Tom:
Here
is the money quote on the fifth vote to hold that the mandate is not
justified under the Commerce Clause (recognizing that doesn't matter
because there were five votes under the Tax Power): "The power to
regulate commerce presupposes the existence of commercial activity to be
regulated." That will not affect a lot of statutes going forward. |
11:06
|
Kali:
Tejinder has a post up on the Court's decision in the Stolen Valor Act case, Alvarez. http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/court-holds-stolen-valor-act-unconstitutional-dismisses-first-american-financial-v-edwards/ |
11:12
|
Tom:
Lyle
is working on his initial post now. He will be adding to it but here's
the first paragraph: Salvaging the idea that Congress did have the power
to try to expand health care to virtually all Americans, the Supreme
Court on Monday upheld the constitutionality of the crucial – and most
controversial — feature of the Affordable Care Act. By a vote of 5-4,
however, the Court did not sustain it as a command for Americans to buy
insurance, but as a tax if they don’t. That is the way Chief Justice
John G. Roberts, Jr., was willing to vote for it, and his view
prevailed. The other Justices split 4-4, with four wanting to uphold it
as a mandate, and four opposed to it in any form. |
11:14
|
Kali:
Lyle has added to that post Here's the link: http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/dont-call-it-a-mandate-its-a-tax/ |
11:17
|
Kali:
Kevin has posted on the Medicaid portion of the opinion. http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/court-holds-that-states-have-choice-whether-to-join-medicaid-expansion/ |
11:18
|
Kali:
He explains that vote for the outcome is divided among several opinions. |
11:24
|
Kali:
Amy is working on plain english. |
11:25
|
Kali:
We're also going to have some guest posts for you shortly. |
11:28
|
Matt:
We also have coverage of today's decisions from around the country. |
11:28
|
Matt:
John Cushman at the New York Times writes, “The decision was a striking victory for the president and Congressional Democrats…” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/us/supreme-court-lets-health-law-largely-stand.html |
11:30
|
Matt:
Josh Levs at CNN has an article entitled “What the health care ruling means to you” http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/politics/supreme-court-health-effects/index.html |
11:31
|
Matt:
Anna
Wilde Matthews at the Wall Street Journal writes, “After months of
uncertainty as the federal health-care overhaul faced legal challenges,
the industry—which at $2.7 trillion represents 17.9% of the nation's
gross domestic product—has a clearer picture of what's in store.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304441404577479042245939300.html?mod=googlenews_wsj |
11:32
|
Kali:
Mike
Dorf at Dorf on Law says: "I haven't yet read the full opinion, but the
very fact that he [The Chief Justice] sustained the Act as a tax shows
that he has a deeply anti-formalist streak." http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2012/06/obamacare-upheld-thanks-to-cj-roberts.html |
11:33
|
Matt:
Senators
have been commenting (and tweeting) on the decision. Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D - Nev.) tweets, “Now that the matter is settled, I
hope that we can work together to create jobs and secure this country’s
economic future. https://twitter.com/SenatorReid |
11:35
|
Matt:
Senate
Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R - Ky) said, “Today's decision
makes one thing clear: Congress must act to repeal this misguided law.
Obamacare has not only limited choices and increased health care costs
for American families, it has made it harder for American businesses to
hire,” CBS news reports. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57462646/supreme-court-upholds-health-care-mandate/ |
11:37
|
Matt:
David
A. Fahrenthold and Ed O’Keefe at the Washington Post write, “Now that
the health-care law has been largely upheld by the Supreme Court, the
GOP-controlled House plans to vote to repeal it--again.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/following-supreme-court-health-care-ruling-house-gop-will-again-try-to-repeal-the-law/2012/06/28/gJQAh2S68V_story.html |
11:39
|
Kali:
The Washington Post has a photo gallery posted here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-upholds-health-care-law-individual-mandate/2012/06/28/gJQAykD88V_gallery.html#photo=1 |
11:39
|
Kali:
(Yes there are photos of the belly dancers) |
11:41
|
Matt:
Michael D. Shear at the New York Times discusses the impact of the decision on the November election. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/how-might-the-health-ruling-play-in-november/ |
11:42
|
Kali:
Politico has this round-up of "How the DNC is celebrating" http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/06/how-the-dnc-is-celebrating-127543.html |
11:42
|
Kali:
We've got some of our own photos posted as well: http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/pictures-from-the-court-health-care-decision-day/ |
11:44
|
Matt:
Those
who have been with the live blog since 8:45AM might enjoy this article
by Barry Ritholtz. It discusses how InTrade got the decision wrong http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/06/healthcare-upheld-by-scotus-intrade-blows-it-again/ Before the decision, InTrade fluctuated around 75% that the mandate would be struck down. |
11:46
|
Matt:
Don't forget that we have our own analysis of today's decisions:Lyle on the individual mandate: http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/dont-call-it-a-mandate-its-a-tax/ Kevin on Medicaid expansion: http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/court-holds-that-states-have-choice-whether-to-join-medicaid-expansion/ Tejinder on the Alvarez and Edwards cases: http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/court-holds-stolen-valor-act-unconstitutional-dismisses-first-american-financial-v-edwards/ |
11:49
Kali:
Via
the Atlantic Wire, "Mitt Romney's spokeswoman said the candidate raised
$300,000 off the ruling in the first hour after it was handed down." 
No comments:
Post a Comment