Lankford Praises OK Federal Judge's Ruling Against Controversial State Obamacare Subsidies

Press Release

Representative James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements, expressed support today for the ruling by a federal judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to clarify that Obamacare tax subsidies and business penalties cannot go to residents of states with only federal insurance exchanges, like Oklahoma.

Oklahoma's Attorney General Scott Pruitt testified in July 2013 before Lankford's House Oversight Subcommittee to vocalize state concerns with the IRS's potentially unlawful action to provide tax subsidies in states with only federal exchanges, despite explicit instructions in the law they can only be used for state-run exchanges. Since then, two federal circuit courts have conflicting rulings on the matter.

"Once again, Oklahoma's Attorney General Scott Pruitt deserves our state's gratitude for his diligent work on behalf of Oklahomans against the Administration's overreach and redefinition of the Affordable Care Act," said Lankford. "I am glad we have such a zealous advocate for our state in the court room, as the Obama Administration attempts to reinterpret the law when the text of the law doesn't work for their purposes.

"When Attorney General Pruitt laid out the facts of the Oklahoma case in my Oversight Subcommittee last year, no one from the Administration could detail how they made the decision to ignore the plain text of the law. Ultimately, the court ruled that the law means what the law says, not what any federal agency wants the law to say.

"The blame for the latest mess in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act lies squarely on the shoulders of the federal legislators who wrote a law that clearly prevents any tax credits from being used for any federal health exchange. As I have said before, the ACA is not only bad healthcare policy, but also a poorly written healthcare law. My focus remains on healthcare solutions that immediately return decision-making authority back to patients, families and the states, so they can administer health care for their communities," concluded Lankford.

Created in the Affordable Care Act, Section 36B of the U.S. tax code only authorizes tax credits and subsidies to individuals in states participating in state-run exchanges. However, effectively rewriting the law, Treasury and IRS authorized the provision of tax credits and subsidies in federal exchanges as well. In the July 2013 Subcommittee hearing chaired by Rep. Lankford, Treasury officials could not point to a single instance of legislative history to support their interpretation or documentation of thorough, corresponding legal analysis prior to implementation of the change.

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