The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Was Passed Using A Shell Bill
By Charles Tyrrell
UPDATED: originally published August 3, 2014
This is how House Bill H.R. 3590, the "Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009" became the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," ACA or Obamacare, as it became known, Obamacare was passed by the 111th Congress using H.R. 3590 as a shell bill. This is how that worked.
The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" began as H.R. 3200 titled “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” But the Democratic Senate had their own version of the bill and a bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in "identical form." In addition, the Bill raised $500 billion in new tax revenue and, according to the U.S. Constitution, only a House Bill can raise taxes.The Senate wanted to pass their Bill and time was of the essence. It was December 24, 2009 and they had lost their House and Senate Majorities in the November election. There would be a Republican House in January that would not pass an ammended H.R. 3200 without reading the Bill and understanding what was in it.
On October 7, 2009, House Bill H.R. 3590, titled "Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009" reached the Senate. The Democrats acted quickly. By December 24, 2009 they had removed the 3 pages of H.R. 3590 and replaced them with the 2,490 pages of their "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." They changed the title and returned H.R.3590 to the Democrat House with the words Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:.
What had been inserted were the 2.490 pages of the "Affordable Care Act" and there certainly was not enough time for anyone in the House to "read" the bill. This action by the Senate prompted the famous statement by House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) who said of Obamacare, "We have to pass this bill so that we can find out what's in it."
And so Obamacare was passed by the House with 219 Democrats voting "Yes" and ALL the Republicans voting "No" The total of 212 "No" votes included 34 Democrats. The Bill was signed into law by Barack Obama on March 21, 2010.
The Republicans tried to stop the bill for many reasons. Aside from the fact that the bill "fined and taxed" the public, there were many many dangerous "side affects" of this Bill such as:
The following links are available for those who would like to look at the Bill themselves:
[1] Obamacare: H.R. 3590
[2] The Original Version of Obamacare: H.R.3200
[3] My Blog of August 11, 2009 Who's Kidding Who About Healthcare?
The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" began as H.R. 3200 titled “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” But the Democratic Senate had their own version of the bill and a bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in "identical form." In addition, the Bill raised $500 billion in new tax revenue and, according to the U.S. Constitution, only a House Bill can raise taxes.The Senate wanted to pass their Bill and time was of the essence. It was December 24, 2009 and they had lost their House and Senate Majorities in the November election. There would be a Republican House in January that would not pass an ammended H.R. 3200 without reading the Bill and understanding what was in it.
On October 7, 2009, House Bill H.R. 3590, titled "Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009" reached the Senate. The Democrats acted quickly. By December 24, 2009 they had removed the 3 pages of H.R. 3590 and replaced them with the 2,490 pages of their "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." They changed the title and returned H.R.3590 to the Democrat House with the words Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:.
What had been inserted were the 2.490 pages of the "Affordable Care Act" and there certainly was not enough time for anyone in the House to "read" the bill. This action by the Senate prompted the famous statement by House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) who said of Obamacare, "We have to pass this bill so that we can find out what's in it."
And so Obamacare was passed by the House with 219 Democrats voting "Yes" and ALL the Republicans voting "No" The total of 212 "No" votes included 34 Democrats. The Bill was signed into law by Barack Obama on March 21, 2010.
The Republicans tried to stop the bill for many reasons. Aside from the fact that the bill "fined and taxed" the public, there were many many dangerous "side affects" of this Bill such as:
- It overhauled the entire healthcare sector of the U.S. economy, taking away the states' rights to initiate and manage their own health insurance reforms and transferring the power to the federal government.
- It established strict federal controls over private health insurance dictating the content of insurance benefit packages.
- It strictly governed the use of medical treatments, procedures, and medical devices including how physicians and other medical professionals deliver care
- It established new federal agencies, bureaus, and commissions to oversee various aspects of the healthcare system and made major changes in payments to medical professionals, doctors, and hospitals in Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs.
- Finally, it restricted the personal and economic freedom of every American by imposing dubious and unprecedented mandates on businesses and individuals.
The following links are available for those who would like to look at the Bill themselves:
[1] Obamacare: H.R. 3590
[2] The Original Version of Obamacare: H.R.3200
[3] My Blog of August 11, 2009 Who's Kidding Who About Healthcare?
The New Taxes of ACA - There probably are not 3 things that will benefit your family under Obamacare but at least 3 of the following tax increases will affect the tax-paying members of your family.
- A mandate on individuals to obtain coverage or pay a tax penalty
- A 40% (huge) excise tax on health care plans of $8,500 or more for an individual and $23,000 or more for a couple.
- An increase in the basis of the medical expenses deduction from 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income to 10 percent, except for seniors, who will stay at 7.5 percent
- A tax on brand name drugs
- Eliminates Medicare Part D (prescription drug) deduction
- An annual tax on the health insurers (as in any business, this will be passed on to subscribers)
- A tax on companies that manufacture or import medical devices
- A mandate on companies with more than 50 employees to provide health coverage or pay a $750 penalty for each employee who obtains their own coverage through the insurance exchange
- A 0.5 percent hike in the Medicare payroll tax for single earners over $200,000 and joint earners over $250,000
- A $2,500 cap on FSAs in cafeteria plans
- Changes in health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer Medical Spending Accounts, health flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and health reimbursement arrangements
- An increase from 10 percent to 20 percent in the penalty for early non-qualified HSA withdrawals
- A 0.5 percent excise tax on cosmetic surgery
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