S.Amdt. 26

1. Adds SEC. __. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT at the end of title VII

   Adds a section

   In S. 223 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   (a) Plan Development.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with interested representatives of the aviation industry and other relevant agencies, shall develop a plan and process to allow Federal agencies to fly scientific instruments on commercial flights with airlines who volunteer, for the purpose of taking measurements to improve weather forecasting.

   Inserted: SEC. __. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

   Inserted: (1) on March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148; 124 Stat. 119) into law, overhauling the healthcare system of the United States and guaranteeing access to medical insurance for millions of uninsured Americans;

   Inserted: (2) nearly two dozen lawsuits trying to block all or portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have been filed in United States district courts since the date of enactment of that Act;

   Inserted: (3) the lawsuits are focused largely on the constitutionality of the so-called individual mandate, the requirement that all Americans purchase healthcare coverage or pay a fine, that is included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act;

   Inserted: (4) the first two United States district court judges to rule on the question, one in Detroit, Michigan, and one in Lynchburg, Virginia, upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate;

   Inserted: (5) two other United States district court judges, in Richmond, Virginia, and Pensacola, Florida, found that the individual mandate exceeds the regulatory authority of Congress under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution;

   Inserted: (6) these conflicting decisions have left the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act uncertain;

   Inserted: (7) the decisions have been appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; and

   Inserted: (8) on January 19, 2011, the House of Representatives voted 245 to 189 to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--

   Inserted: (1) the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148; 124 Stat. 119) is of imperative public importance; and

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   Inserted: (2) on petition, the Supreme Court of the United States should grant a writ of certiorari under rule 11 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the constitutionality of that Act before judgment in the matter is entered in a United States court of appeals.

   Original wording

   At the end of title VII, add the following:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed