Two Obamacare Court Decisions: Only One Win for Accountability
WASHINGTON – Cause of Action responded to two crucial court decisions today concerning the Affordable Care Act: Halbig v. Burwell, et al in the DC Circuit and King v. Burwell, et al in the 4th Circuit, showing that in the end, these cases are really about executive branch power and the need for accountability.
Cause of Action’s Senior Vice President of Litigation Reed Rubinstein:
“Two courts today affirmed the critical role of an external check on executive branch power– but only one court got it right. While the 4th Circuit gave lip service to the judiciary’s role as a check on agency action, it deferred to the agency’s own interpretation of the law. The DC Circuit, however, actually put that check into play and ruled that the IRS acted without authority. If our courts merely defer to executive branch power, no check and balance exists. Judges must do the job of judging and not hand over this responsibility to the agencies.”
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