Now that the nation’s highest court has agreed to take up the case of the federal health care reform law, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is asking the chief justice to open the proceedings for all to hear. Grassley, a Republican, says the decision on so-called Obamacare has the potential to reach every American and it’s expected to focus on three key issues surrounding the legislation.
“One, whether the individual mandate is constitutional,” Grassley says. “Secondly, if the rest of the law is valid without the individual mandate, and thirdly, the authority of Congress to impose mandatory Medicaid coverage thresholds on states.” Given the nature of the topic, Grassley says everyone in the country would benefit from following the proceedings on this critical decision.
Grassley says, “I’m asking the chief justice to allow audio and video coverage of these oral arguments which probably will take place in March or April.” Grassley says the controversial law was “pushed through Congress in a partisan way,” with all Democrats voting in favor of it and all Republicans opposing.
“The law is massive in size and scope,” Grassley says. “Its impact is reverberating throughout the American economy. The constitutional questions are landmark. The public has a right to hear the legal arguments.”
The first time Grassley appealed to the Supreme Court to open its proceedings for broadcast was during the oral arguments of the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential vote decision. In that instance, the court did allow audio of those arguments to be heard.