Politics & Government
Cunningham Wants State to Join Lawsuit Against Health Care Reform Bill
The Republican state senator filed a resolution asking state Attorney General Chris Koster to join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care act.
A resolution filed by Chesterfield's State Sen. Jane Cunningham challenging federal health care reform cleared a hurdle Tuesday.
The resolution, which asks Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster to join other states in a lawsuit challenging the reform, cleared the Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee by a 5-2 vote, said Kit Crancer, Cunningham's chief of staff. The resolution now moves on to the full Senate.
Crancer said Cunningham's office was optimistic the Senate would approve the measure.
Cunningham (R) announced the filing of the resolution in a news release last week. The multi-state lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the federal health care act passed in 2010, as well as the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Cunningham said in the release.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by the U.S. Congress and was signed by President Obama in March 2010. With some exceptions for poverty, Cunningham's office said, all citizens are required to prove they have an approved insurance policy through their IRS tax returns or face penalties under the law.
Missouri voters were the first to pass a proposition—Proposition C—barring government from requiring citizens to have health insurance, Cunningham said in the release.
"With more than 71 percent of Missourians supporting passage of Proposition C—the highest vote among states in opposition to 'Obama-care'—our state's citizens have made themselves loud and clear," the statement said. "However, we need to go a step further and join the more than 20 other states that are participating in this lawsuit."
"Our state joining the ranks of others against this unconstitutional mandate will help strengthen our state's convictions against those who want to force unprecedented requirements upon its citizens."
A spokesman in Koster's Jefferson City office said Tuesday the attorney general is monitoring the measure's progress in both the State Senate and House of Representatives.