Al Franken Open To Delaying the Mandate

November 23rd, 2013

Al Franken was the 60th vote that allowed the Democrats to pass Obamacare over a Republican filibuster. And now his seat may be in jeopardy based on the fate of Obamacare. So he is suggesting a possible delay to the enforcement of the mandate:

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) says he would be open to a brief delay in the individual mandate if the problems with HealthCare.gov aren’t fixed by the end of the month, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

“I think then we have to consider extending the deadline for the mandate, but let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Franken told MPR.

Franken has so far been relatively quiet about potential changes to the health-care law, but he now joins a growing group of Senate Democrats in seats that could be targeted by the GOP in 2014 who are speaking up on the issue.

What mandate? Certainly, there is no mandate. Only a tax on not having insurance. Any legislation concerning a mandate with a penalty would be unconstitutional under NFIB. Any delay must, at last, acknowledge that this law is a tax. See more in this op-ed I wrote with Randy Barnett.

Update: From a set of talking points released by the Times:

newtaxes