ICYMI: Sen. Cruz in POLITICO: Best Approach to King v. Burwell Is to Allow States to Opt Out

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spoke to POLITICO about the upcoming Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell and Congress’s response to the decision:

“I think the best legislative option is to allow states to opt out,” Cruz said in the Capitol. “I am cautiously optimistic that the Supreme Court will conclude in King vs. Burwell that the Obama IRS disregarded the plain language of the statute and acted lawlessly. And when that occurs, it will be a real opportunity for Congress to lead.”

He added: “In a perfect world, we would take that opportunity to repeal Obamacare. At a minimum, we should allow states to opt out.”

Full text of the article can be found here and below:

Cruz Fights GOP Approach on Obamacare Subsidies
Politico
Manu Raju
06/11/2015 

Ted Cruz is planning to battle his party over Obamacare again — this time, if Senate Republicans seek to extend subsidies that could be killed by the Supreme Court as soon as this month. 

In an interview with POLITICO, the 2016 presidential candidate weighed in on the high-stakes Supreme Court case that could end subsidies for millions of people who receive their health insurance through the federal exchange. A majority of Republican senators have endorsed an approach to keep those subsidies in place until September 2017, but Cruz flatly said “no” when asked if he’d sign on as well.

“I think the best legislative option is to allow states to opt out,” Cruz said in the Capitol. “I am cautiously optimistic that the Supreme Court will conclude in King vs. Burwell that the Obama IRS disregarded the plain language of the statute and acted lawlessly. And when that occurs, it will be a real opportunity for Congress to lead.” 

He added: “In a perfect world, we would take that opportunity to repeal Obamacare. At a minimum, we should allow states to opt out.”

Cruz’s comments underscore the challenges for Republican leaders if they win the Supreme Court case: They’ll have to find a way to help the millions who could immediately see their health care costs skyrocket without appearing to endorse a law they universally despise. 

And it’s bound to grow more complicated with the injection of 2016 politics: Republican senators in blue-states facing reelection will be eager to avoid a public revolt and find a way to keep federal dollars flowing to people who rely on the subsidies to defray their health care costs; conservatives running for president will be eager to renew their demands to kill the controversial law once and for all. 

There are several proposals aimed at addressing this dilemma, with one leading option proposed by Sen. Ron Johnson, a conservative up for reelection next year in Wisconsin, which has a federal exchange. While Johnson’s approach would extend the subsidies through the summer of 2017, it would also kill the law’s individual and employer mandates and repeal insurance industry reforms, a proposal backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) with 31 co-sponsors. 

Other Republicans have proposed their own version, including freshman Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) who wants to keep the subsidies in place for 18 month — but gradually reduce them over that timeframe. And Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), another freshman, has a plan that would not keep the subsidies, though he’s signaled he’d be open to extending them depending on how the court rules.

It’s not unlike Cruz to battle his party over health care; he did it in 2013 after a 21-hour speech demanding that the GOP use a must-pass spending bill to defund Obamacare. When the end result was a government shutdown, he became a scourge of Republicans in Washington. 

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a member of Republican leadership, said it’s unfair to contend that Republicans are seeking to protect the law if they were to temporarily extend the subsidies.

“Republicans will have a response to protect the people who have been hurt by the president’s illegal action, but we are not going to protect the law,” he said.

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