Washington, D.C. — Independent Women's Voice President and CEO Heather Higgins today released a letter to all members of Congress urging them to include passage of the "Save Our States" Act, offered by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) as Amendment No. 197 to Senate Bill 493, as a non-negotiable part of any debt ceiling agreement:

 

Dear Sirs,                                                               

Congress soon will face an important vote on raising our nation's debt ceiling.  On behalf of Independent Women's Voice, we strongly urge you to include the "Save Our States" Act as a non-negotiable part of any agreement regarding the debt ceiling.

The American people were clear in 2010: They want:

  • Serious and significant spending cuts
  • A halt to the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and ultimately its repeal
  • A Congress that does what it promised, including righting the great wrong of the way PPACA was passed
  • Adherence to the Constitution. 

Voters will not be satisfied with legislation that is just for show; they understand the consequences of PPACA’s implementation on both our budget and for the prospects of repeal, and they will hold this Congress accountable for the results it does, or doesn’t, achieve. 

With the Supreme Court of the United States recently denying Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's petition to expedite consideration of the Virginia lawsuit against PPACA— better known as ObamaCare — it now becomes all the more important that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R-TX) "Save Our States" Act be passed by Congress.  The legislation is currently a pending amendment (#197) to the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 (S. 493).

With the Court taking a pass on this chance to accelerate hearing the challenge, it could be two years, if not longer, before the case is heard and the Court's opinion is handed down. Sen. Hutchison's "Save Our States" Act would bring to a halt all implementation of ObamaCare until these critical legal challenges are decided.

Without passage of the "Save Our States" Act, billions of taxpayer dollars will be wasted, and we will be that much closer to a system which replaces our choices with that of bureaucrats.   If we are serious about getting our national debt and deficit problems under control, if we are serious about preserving our freedoms and rolling back this overreach, then we must halt the implementation of this law until the legal challenges are settled.

Simply put, it makes no sense to spend billions we don't have, for a system we don't need or want, and which the Supreme Court is likely to find unconstitutional. As such, we urge you include Sen. Hutchison's "Save Our States" Act as part of any agreement struck to raise the debt ceiling.  We simply cannot afford the cost of failing to halt ObamaCare.

Sincerely,

Heather R. Higgins
President & CEO
Independent Women's Voice