IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1031 
Authorizing certain Committees of the House of Representatives to intervene 
in the case of Texas v. United States, No. 4:18–cv–00167–O (N.D. 
Tex.) and authorizing the Office of General Counsel of the House to 
represent such Committees in such intervention. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2018 
Ms. ROSEN (for herself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. NEAL, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. 
NADLER, Mr. HOYER, and Ms. PELOSI) submitted the following resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Rules 
RESOLUTION 
Authorizing certain Committees of the House of Representa-
tives to intervene in the case of Texas v. United States, 
No. 4:18–cv–00167–O (N.D. Tex.) and authorizing the 
Office of General Counsel of the House to represent 
such Committees in such intervention. 
Whereas Texas, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, 
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Paul 
LePage (Governor of Maine), Mississippi (by and through 
Governor Phil Bryant), Missouri, Nebraska, North Da-
kota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, 
and West Virginia have filed suit in the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of Texas, argu-
ing that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
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•HRES 1031 IH 
(Public Law 111–148; 124 Stat. 119), is unconstitutional 
and should be enjoined, by asserting that the Act’s re-
quirement to maintain minimum essential coverage (com-
monly known as the ‘‘individual responsibility provision’’) 
in section 5000A(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, is unconstitutional following the amendment of 
that provision by the Act to provide for reconciliation 
pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution 
on the budget for fiscal year 2018 (Public Law 115–97) 
(commonly known as the ‘‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’’); 
Whereas these State and individual plaintiffs also seek to 
strike down the entire Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act as not severable from the individual responsi-
bility provision; 
Whereas, on June 7, 2018, the Department of Justice re-
fused to defend the constitutionality of the amended indi-
vidual responsibility provision, despite the well-established 
duty of the Department to defend Federal statutes where 
reasonable arguments can be made in their defense; and 
Whereas the Department of Justice not only refused to de-
fend the amended individual responsibility provision, but 
it affirmatively argued that this provision is unconstitu-
tional and that the provisions of the Patient Protection 
and Affordable Care Act guaranteeing issuance of insur-
ance coverage regardless of health status or preexisting 
conditions (commonly known as the ‘‘guaranteed issue 
provision’’), sections 2702, 2704, and 2705(a) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–1, 300gg– 
3, 300gg–4(a)), and prohibiting discriminatory premium 
rates (commonly known as the ‘‘community rating provi-
sion’’), sections 2701 and 2705(b) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg(a)(1), 300gg–4(b)) must 
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•HRES 1031 IH 
now be struck down as not severable from the individual 
responsibility provision: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the Committee on Education and the Work-
force, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on 
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives 
are authorized to intervene on behalf of the House 
of Representatives in the case of Texas v. United 
States, No. 4:18–cv–00167–O (N.D. Tex.) in order 
to unconditionally defend all provisions of the Pa-
tient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the 
amendments made by that Act to other provisions of 
law, and any amendments to such provisions, includ-
ing the provisions ensuring affordable health cov-
erage for those with preexisting conditions; and 
(2) the Office of General Counsel of the House 
of Representatives is authorized and directed, under 
the supervision of the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce, the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives, to represent such Committees in 
such intervention. 
Æ 
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