Title: 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.
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Authorizes specified committees of the House of Representatives to intervene on behalf of the House in the case of Texas v. United States in order to defend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Authorizes the Office of General Counsel of the House, under the supervision of such committees, to represent them in the intervention.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1031 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 
        resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   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.

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 Dakota, South 
        Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia have filed 
        suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of 
        Texas, arguing that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
        (Public Law 111-148; 124 Stat. 119), is unconstitutional and should be 
        enjoined, by asserting that the Act's requirement to maintain minimum 
        essential coverage (commonly 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 responsibility provision;
Whereas, on June 7, 2018, the Department of Justice refused to defend the 
        constitutionality of the amended individual 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 defend the amended 
        individual responsibility provision, but it affirmatively argued that 
        this provision is unconstitutional and that the provisions of the 
        Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act guaranteeing issuance of 
        insurance 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 provision''), sections 2701 
        and 2705(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg(a)(1), 
        300gg-4(b)) must 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 Workforce, 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 Patient Protection and Affordable 
        Care Act, the amendments made by that Act to other provisions 
        of law, and any amendments to such provisions, including the 
        provisions ensuring affordable health coverage 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 Commerce, the Committee on the 
        Judiciary, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
        Representatives, to represent such Committees in such 
        intervention.
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