From KOCO-TV ~ Senate President Pro-Tempore Glenn Coffee and House Speaker Chris Benge are pushing for Attorney General Drew Edmondson to file a lawsuit to block federal health care reform from affecting Oklahoma.
The Democrat "Jobs Elimination Bill of 2010," as Coffee referred to it, will impose half a trillion dollars in new taxes on American families. It will cost Oklahoma one billion dollars over the next 10 years in new spending, they said.
In their letter to Attorney General Drew Edmondson, Coffee and Benge simply said, “The people of our state don’t want it. The taxpayers can’t afford it.”
Meanwhile, legislation that would allow Oklahomans to preserve the health-care system and protect citizens from the ravages of the newly approved federal plan has cleared the House and now awaits a vote in the Senate, the GOP communications office advised, and a second measure is under consideration.
“This bill is the ‘safety net’ for Oklahoma citizens to preserve their choice in healthcare by opting out of ObamaCare and avoiding the threat of federal penalties for both workers and employers,” said state Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow.
House Joint Resolution 1054, by Ritze, Rep. Mike Reynolds (R-Oklahoma City) and Senator Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso), would allow the voters to change the Oklahoma Constitution to include a “Freedom of Healthcare Choice Act.”
“This is the most serious national issue I've ever seen,” said House Majority Floor Leader Tad Jones, R-Claremore. “We need to let Oklahomans express their feelings about the federal takeover of one-sixth of the U.S. economy as soon as possible.”
Senate Joint Resolution 59, by Senator Dan Newberry (R-Tulsa) and Rep. Mike Thompson (R-Oklahoma City), would allow citizens to vote to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to “preserve the freedom of Oklahomans to provide for their health care.”