There was a great victory at the capitol on Wednesday. Many of you have put a great amount of effort into seeing the Health Care Freedom Act on the ballot this November. This from Annette Read.
THANK YOU to all who showed up (250+) for the Code Blue Rally today! Our presence forced the Senate’s hand to respond to the Health Care Freedom Act, and it doesn’t go unnoticed that the movement of this bill coincided with our rally today.
Several weeks ago, Rep. Tim Jones had enormous success getting the House version of the Health Care Freedom Act passed.
Today, Sen. Jane Cunningham succeeded in getting the Health Care Freedom Act through the Senate as an addition to Missouri’s statutes with a referendum** to be voted on by Missourians in August. The statute bill is predicted to move quickly through the House for final passage.
**Sen. Cunningham can still remove the referendum, which would then bring the bill to the Governor for a likely veto. During the subsequent veto session in September, the veto could then be overridden by a (difficult) 2/3 majority.
The fact that Sen. Cunningham is a junior senator and would see such a major legislative proposal passed is an amazing accomplishment.
There have been many inquiries about the “weight” of the statute, since the HCFA was originally introduced as a constitutional amendment. The (statute) form that passed today would actually be considered the “win-win,” because the ultimate goal was to force the federal government to a showdown about Missouri sovereignty as stated from the beginning. Whether a statute or an amendment, the HCFA will end up in the federal courts. Therefore, both forms would also force the question of sovereignty. In addition, the statute prevented potentially losing everything, based on the possibility of a continued filibuster. (Please note that additional information about the HCFA that may have been omitted will be added to our website as it becomes available.)
Please thank Sen. Cunningham and the senators who voted in favor of it (nays in red below). If you know any of the Minutemen who took off work, etc. for the Code Blue Rally today, please thank them for their dedication to freedom! Finally, our thanks to everyone who contacted all the senators; every communication made a difference.
