House panel to examine Supreme Court health ruling

By Bernie Becker - 07/03/12 03:42 PM ET

The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Democratic healthcare overhaul’s individual mandate was constitutional as a tax.

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the chairman of the tax-writing panel, said in a statement Tuesday that his committee needed to investigate a ruling he called “a dangerous precedent with potentially enormous consequences.”

“We have a responsibility to fully understand the Court’s interpretation of Congress’s taxing authority and what that means for potential actions taken by future Congresses, the future of our country and the relationship that the government has with the American people,” Camp said.

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling — with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the liberal justices — has dominated conversation in Washington since it was announced last Thursday.

With that decision, the Supreme Court became the first court to rule that the mandate was constitutional as a tax.

Other courts, in upholding the mandate, had found it was constitutional because Congress has the ability to regulate interstate commerce.

The Justice Department had argued the law was constitutional both under the Commerce Clause and Congress’s taxing power.

Even with the Supreme Court ruling, President Obama and other top Democrats have argued that the mandate is not a tax, calling it instead a penalty for the fraction of people who decide against obtaining insurance.

For their part, top Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) have tried to latch on to the Supreme Court ruling – arguing that, because Democrats didn’t label the mandate a tax, they were dishonest while pushing for the legislation.

But on Monday, a top aide to Mitt Romney said the former Massachusetts governor does not believe the mandate is a tax. The healthcare bill that Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, helped pass in his state also contained a mandate. Romney has said he favors repealing the Democratic healthcare law.