(Alexandria, VA) – Today, the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation's largest and oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, applauded the passage of Missouri's Proposition C, a state law that seeks to prohibit the federal government from punishing those who don't buy health insurance and upholds every person's right to pay for his or her health care directly. NTU has over 7,300 members in Missouri.
John Stephenson, NTU's State Government Affairs Manager, says, "With this vote, Missourians have taken a strong stand against overbearing dictates from Washington and have spoken out for health care freedom. Out of the nearly one million votes cast in yesterday's special election, more than 70 percent of voters said "no" to more spending and higher taxes, and said 'yes' to less government intrusion in their health care decisions."
NTU strongly supported the adoption of Proposition C, which the Missouri Legislature referred to the ballot earlier this year. This is the first of several challenges, either through ballot measures or lawsuits, to the 2010 federal health care law at the state level. This November, Arizona and Oklahoma will consider legislatively referred constitutional amendments (Missouri's measure was statutory) that ask voters whether the state should opt out or participate in the federal scheme. Certification of a similar citizen-initiated proposal in Colorado is currently underway. Additionally, 20 states have pursued legal action against what has become known as "Obamacare." Yesterday, a U.S. District Judge in Virginia ruled that the Commonwealth's lawsuit could advance to the next stage of adjudication.
Stephenson concludes, "As more Americans learn that the federal health care takeover will boost government spending by $2.6 trillion over the next decade, raise taxes, create new penalties, and interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, the likelier they will be to take the same stance Missouri voters did yesterday. Whatever their success may be in repealing or overturning the new law, one thing is certain: this truly historic movement, aimed at changing policy, not just politics, is gathering a level of strength that federal officials can ill-afford to ignore."
NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit citizen organization founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. Note: For more information on NTU, visit www.ntu.org or text the word "FIGHT" to 67292.