The Republican-controlled lower house of Congress in the US has narrowly
voted to launch a lawsuit against President Barack Obama. The suit
accuses Obama of overstepping his authority in implementing healthcare
reform.
A vote in the House of Representatives ended 225 to 201, largely along
party lines, approving the unprecedented move of taking a US president
to court.
Wednesday's vote authorized House lawyers to draft legal documents for a
possible case, which is expected to claim that Obama overstepped his
authority when making unilateral changes to the Affordable Care Act,
also known as Obamacare. Republicans argue that Obama illegally changed
the healthcare reform laws by using executive orders, which do not
require Congressional approval, on certain points.
Obama's Democrats, who are in the minority in the lower house of
Congress, decried the attempted lawsuit as an election-year stunt, ahead
of November's "midterm" elections that will determine the control of
Congress next year. But Republican House Speaker John Boehner told
lawmakers he objected to Obama's "attempts to make his own laws" on the
contentious issue of healthcare.
"This isn't about Republicans or Democrats. It's about defending the
Constitution that we swore to uphold, and acting decisively when it may
be compromised," Boehner said. "Are you willing to let any president
choose what laws to execute, and what laws to change?"
Republicans have complained about other executive orders issued by Obama
- on issues including immigration policy, same-sex marriage and the
prisoner swap for Taliban hostage Bowe Bergdahl - but the party says it
believes its case is strongest on healthcare reform.
Obama contends that he used the executive orders as a last resort
after Congress refused to work with him; the Affordable Care Act was
opposed by every Republican lawmaker.
'Suing me for doing my job'
Barack Obama, speaking in Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday, again
sought to laugh off the potential lawsuit as a "political stunt" in an
election year.
"Instead of suing me for doing my job, I want Congress to do its job and
make life a little better for the Americans who sent them there in the
first place," he told a sympathetic crowd, before adding: "And by the
way, you know who's paying for this suit they're going to file? You."
The chances of ultimately bringing Obama before a judge or launching an
impeachment procedure are currently considered slim, according to the
Associated Press and other US outlets. With Obama leaving office at the
start of 2017 - he is not eligible to run for a third term under US law -
Republican lawyers would also be racing against time to arrange a case.
In the mean time, however, both parties sought to use the case to give
their midterm election fundraising campaigns a boost on Wednesday. House
Democrats emailed fundraising requests to donors during the debate, and
against after the vote; one said the Republican Party "is chomping at
the bit to impeach the president." The Republicans, meanwhile, called
the House vote a "huge step" in curbing Obama, urging potential donors
to "contribute right now to end Obama's executive overreach."
November's mid-term elections will replace the entire House of
Representatives and one-third of US Senators in the upper house, where
Democrats hold a narrow majority.
