Natalie Gonnella
Two prominent South Carolina Republicans stepped up their efforts to repeal "Obamacare" this week, with both Governor Nikki Haley and Senator Lindsey Graham taking further action to challenge the President on the law.
On Tuesday, barely 24 hours after Florida Judge Roger Vinson ruled the Affordable Care Act to be unconstitutional, South Carolina's first female governor called on President Obama to speed up the health care hearing likely to take place before the Supreme Court.
Haley is encouraging fellow governors to sign a letter calling for President Obama to expedite the legal process, and to "direct those in your Cabinet who are defendants in these suits to quickly file an appeal and, when they do so, that they appeal straight to the United States Supreme Court." During a press conference on Tuesday, Haley said:
If it is important enough for the president to say this is his No. 1 agenda, then it is important enough to speed up that hearing so the state can find out what they are doing, Right now our agencies are in chaos trying to get ready for something that we don't know is going to happen.
Even before she was sworn in as Governor, during a meeting with President in December, Haley wasted little time in requesting a full repeal of the health care law. Although the President said he was not willing to repeal the legislation, Haley took his response as an opportunity to push for alternative solutions, commenting during an interview with Fox News that:
[President Obama] certainly drew a line in the sand on repeal. It was adamant and very matter of fact. But when I asked him if which could opt- out, there was a pause and look if you can come up with this, I will talk to you about it. I think he saw what happened in November. I think it is the job of the governors to give options. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we have options for our state. What I don't want is individual mandates. I want market-based solutions and allowing companies to cross state lines so my citizens have every option available.
Governor Haley also went on to add:
It is the job of elected officials to listen. What we saw in November was a clear mandate on the fact we done want extra expenses on our states...It certainly was a no health care, whether a Republican or democrat...It was individuals saying we want the right to choose. I think it is up to the governors to say we are not going to allow this to happen. We can handle this through solutions on our own. It is our job to protect the liberties of people. I think President Obama should admit this was a mistake. Step back and tell the people this was a mistake and start over.
In addition to Governor Haley's actions, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also intensified his push to challenge the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday. In a proposal with Senator John Barrasso (WY), Graham is calling for the authorization of states to "opt-out" of the law 's major provisions. While Graham's ultimate goal is the eventual repeal of "Obamacare," in introducing the bill the Senator said:
We’re going to bring this up every time we can to make sure that the Senate is on record as to whether or not the states should have the ability to opt out and choose their own path when it comes to Obama health care.
The Senator went on to also comment:
This bill, this opt-out provision, would take health care to the streets of America, not just the streets of Washington
And that:
The goal is to repeal and replace. And you’ve got to ask yourself this question: why are 26 states suing the federal government if they didn’t believe there was a problem with this bill
The Greenville Times noted that Governor Haley has given Graham and Barrasso her support. The full bill should be available to view here or here shortly.
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