Affordable care act Quote by Brion T. McClanahan
““Over a two-year period, the Obama administration delayed the implementation of the Affordable Care Act twenty-eight times, ostensibly to give employers time to comply with the law.9 This was a blatantly unconstitutional power grab by the executive office. Congress alone has the power to legislate, and once a law is passed and signed by the president, the executive branch has a constitutional responsibility to enforce that law. Obama had no legal authority to issue such delays, particularly in regard to employer and individual mandates. These mandates would have been (and are) painful and probably would have resulted in even larger losses for the Democrats in the 2014 election cycle.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Obama Administration Press Conference, 2013
The administration repeatedly postponed ACA enforcement, overstepping constitutional limits and undermining democratic lawmaking.
In simple terms: Delays violated constitutional separation of powers.
Key Takeaway
Enforce laws as passed.
Themes
government
law
constitution
executive power
policy implementation
Mood
skeptical
analytical
Type
political
legal
When to use this quote
- healthcare rollout
- legislative process
- political strategy
- public administration
Key Concepts
constitutional law
executive overreach
Questions to Reflect On
- Is it ever justified for an executive to delay a law for practical reasons?
- What safeguards prevent executive overreach?
A Different Perspective
Delays may have been intended to ease transition, though legality is questionable.
![“Many of the opposition [to the new Federal Constitution] wish to take from Congress the power of internal taxation. Calculation has convinced me that this would be very mischievous.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e89/thomas-jefferson-43_calculations_many-of-the-opposition-to-the-new-federa_936908.jpg)
![“Senator [Tom] Cotton has campaigned on wanting to kill Obamacare. He voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act back in January, but he now says, despite these marathon all-night sessions going on in the House, Republicans need to do better, they need to start over, they need to come up with…” quote by Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ba0/rachel-maddow-1240_affordable_senator-tom-cotton-has-campaigned-on-wan_18158.jpg)
![“[Tom Cotton] has been an absolute champion of the idea of getting rid of Obamacare, scrapping the Affordable Care Act.” quote by Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a13/rachel-maddow-1240_absolutes_tom-cotton-has-been-an-absolute-champion_30724.jpg)
