FreedomWorks has signed on to the following Memo to the Movement by the Conservative Action Project:

Current Event:

The current continuing resolution (CR) funding the government expires on March 27, setting up an opportunity for Congress and President Obama to honor the bi-partisan sequester savings already agreed upon. It also presents an opportunity to achieve even more savings by defunding and stopping the implementation of Obamacare, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently reported will force 7 million Americans out of their existing health insurance.



Action:

Conservatives cannot support a CR that is above the sequester level of $974 billion annually. While many conservatives would prefer reprogramming defense cuts to other areas of discretionary spending (dollar for dollar cuts in the same year), the current sequester savings are better than none at all.

Conservatives should not approve a CR unless it defunds Obamacare. This includes Obamacare’s unworkable exchanges, unsustainable Medicaid expansion, and attack on life and religious liberty.

A mere “date-change CR” is unacceptable. Although the Obama administration and others will argue the CR is not the appropriate legislative vehicle to defund Obamacare, it is easily done through a series of appropriation riders. Because the CR represents one of the best vehicles possible to delay the implementation of Obamacare, it must not be used to bargain on the upcoming sequester.



Issue in Brief:

On October 1, 2013, open enrollment begins for the federally backed health care exchanges. On January 1, 2014, new money from Washington will begin flowing to states and individuals, all but ensuring that these new entitlements will become a permanent fixture of life in America. The window of opportunity to stop the implementation of these massive new subsidies is closing.

Although many of Obamacare's provisions are now the law of the land, many of the law's most damaging and irreversible provisions do not take effect until 2014.



Once implemented, the new spending contained within Obamacare, primarily the Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies, will cost taxpayers more than $1.6 trillion over the next decade, according to the latest CBO estimates. Given the history of federal entitlement programs and the back-loaded nature of Obamacare spending, some estimate the full implementation cost could reach $2.6 trillion over ten years. It will increase the federal government's health spending by 15 percent.



The issue is far from settled in the states, which are tasked with either implementing the wide-ranging mandates and invasive requirements put forth by Obamacare, or deferring such choices to the bureaucrats in Washington.



The fractured opinion amongst the states is one reason the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has continually pushed back the deadline for states to make a decision on the exchanges and Medicaid expansion.



The invasive elements of Obamacare are not set in stone; in fact, elements of the law are already under assault from Republicans and Democrats alike. The CLASS Act was repealed and there is bipartisan support for eliminating the devastating Medical Device Tax.



Blueprint to Defunding Obamacare



Obamacare’s funding mechanisms are as complicated as the law itself, but they can be stopped through the appropriation process, which includes the upcoming continuing resolution.

Federally Backed Exchanges. An appropriations rider must eliminate the refundable tax credits for premiums and the cost sharing subsidies that are essentially used to support insurance purchased in the Obamacare exchanges, which starts January 1, 2014.

Medicaid Expansion. An appropriations rider must eliminate the enhance match funding for the Medicaid expansion, which takes effect January 1, 2014.

Permanent Appropriations. Obamacare contains items called “permanent appropriations” which guarantee funding for the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) and Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF). An appropriations rider turns off funds for these so-called permanent appropriations, which are already in effect.

Implementation. An appropriations rider must block the implementation of Obamacare, covering salaries, rulemaking, enforcement, etc.

Life and Religious Liberty. Obamacare is an unprecedented attack on life and religious liberty. An appropriations rider must repeal the HHS mandate that attacks the religious values and principles of countless Americans.

Miscellaneous Programs. An appropriations rider must block all funding for newly authorized discretionary programs contained in Obamacare and return reauthorized programs back to their pre-Obamacare levels.

Signed:

Edwin Meese III

Former Attorney General

President Ronald Reagan



Chris Chocola

President

Club for Growth



Jenny Beth Martin

Co-Founder

Tea Party Patriots



Penny Nance

President

Concerned Women for America



The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell

President

Constitutional Congress, Inc.



William Wilson

President

Americans for Limited Government



Duane Parde

President

National Taxpayers Union



Susan Carleson

President

American Civil Rights Union



Andrea Lafferty

President

Traditional Values Coalition



Alfred S. Regnery

President

The Paul Revere Project



Lewis Uhler

President

National Tax Limitation Committee



Brent Bozell

President

ForAmerica



Matt Kibbe

President

FreedomWorks



Marjorie Dannenfelser

President

Susan B. Anthony List



David Williams

President

Taxpayers Protection Alliance



The Honorable David McIntosh

Former U.S. Representative

Indiana



David Bozell

Executive Director

ForAmerica



Colin Hanna

President

Let Freedom Ring



Stuart Epperson

President

Council for National Policy



Heather Higgins

President

Independent Women's Forum



Cindy Chafian

President

The Mommy Lobby



Gary Bauer

President

American Values



Mike Needham

CEO

Heritage Action for America



David Bossie

President

Citizens United



Mathew D. Staver

Chairman

Liberty Counsel Action



James Martin

Chairman

60 Plus Association



Erick Erickson

Editor

RedState.com



T. Kenneth Cribb

Former Domestic Advisor

President Ronald Reagan



Becky Norton Dunlop

Former White House Advisor

President Ronald Reagan



Grace-Marie Turner

President

The Galen Institutue



Myron Ebell

President

Freedom Action



Craig Shirley

Reagan Campaign Biographer



Rev. Lou Sheldon

Chairman

Traditional Values Coalition



Richard Rahn

President

Inst. for Global Economic Growth



Lee Beaman

Businessman

Nashville, TN



Bob Reccord

Executive Director

Council for National Policy



Angelo M. Codevilla

Professor Emeritus

Boston University



Tom Donelson

Chairman

America's PAC



Brian Baker

President

Ending Spending



Kay R. Daly

President

Coalition for a Fair Judiciary



Don Devine

Senior Scholar

The Fund for American Studies



Gary Aldrich

President

Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty



Ralph Benko

President

Center for Civic Virtue



Andresen Blom

Senior Strategist

Center for Civic Virtue



Joe Gregory

CEO

Gregory Management Co.



Rebecca Hagelin



(All organizations listed for Identification purposes only)



