Doctors vs. the IRS

Two Tennessee doctors are none too pleased with the prospects of the Internal Revenue Service having access to your health care information and serving as the enforcers to collect the new Obama Tax for those who don't purchase a government approved health care plan.

These two doctors also happen to be members of Congress - Phil Roe (TN-1) and Scott DesJarlais (TN-4).

When Obamacare was passed and signed into law, it allowed state health exchanges to award tax credits for the purchase of premiums for coverage. These state health exchanges would be operated independently through each state, under each state's own regulations and laws governing the insurance industry.

However, a rule passed within the Department of Treasury allowing the IRS to issue tax credits through federally-facilitated health care exchanges. That move both circumvented the wishes of Congress and undermined the state health exchanges.

Obviously, the notion that an agency of government can undo the legislative process is outrageous and protests were offered last year by many in Congress.

Last November, 22 Representatives joined Roe and DesJarlais in signing a letter noting that "Federal agencies such as the Internal Revenue Services do not have the authority under our Constitution to propose regulations which contravene the explicit statutory text of dually-enacted public laws." The purpose of this letter was to cordially request the IRS amend the rule change to remove the language that contradicts the law.

Troublingly, the IRS brazenly ignored this request. In response, Roe and DesJarlais filed House Joint Resolution 112, which not only states their clear disapproval of the rule, but further declares, "such rule shall have no force or effect."

It may be some time before the resolution winds through the legislative process, but, for now, it provides Americans who believe in limited, constitutional government with hope that bureaucratic rulemaking may soon be restrained.

America has witnessed President Barack Obama travel the globe apologizing for the "arrogance of America" while his Administration shreds the Constitution at every opportunity through the haughtiness of power and executive heavy-handedness.

Nullifying this IRS overreach is a good start towards remedying the problem of bureaucracies riding roughshod over the Constitution.

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