FREEDOMWORKS 07/16/2015

1. ObamaCare and the Supreme Court Episode IV: A New Hope - by Michael Greibrok The Supreme Court has now largely upheld ObamaCare, with a carve-out from the contraceptive mandate for closely held companies, the first three times the law has been challenged in the Court. Because of this, it is difficult to have much faith that the Court will ever overturn the law based on constitutional concerns. However, there is still another case working its way through the DC Circuit, Sissel v. HHS, challenging ObamaCare based on the Origination Clause. The Origination Clause has become an issue because of Chief Justice Robert’s opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius. In that case, the first ObamaCare case before the Supreme Court, the majority of justices voted that Congress exceeded its authority under the Commerce Clause in passing the Affordable Care Act. Hooray! Read More here... 2. FreedomWorks CEO: Why is Hillary Trying to Destroy the Startup Economy? Following the roll-out of Hillary Clinton's economic agenda in New York City on Monday, FreedomWorks CEO Adam Brandon commented: "Hillary's idea of creating jobs is to destroy the startup economy. Businesses like Uber, Airbnb, and Lyft thrive off of people being able to work when they can and not being over-regulated. Forcing these companies to provide full-time benefits and comply with overreaching laws not only hurts the employees but the people they serve. Read more here...  3. Key Vote YES on the Cruz Amendment to Every Child Achieves Act - by Adam Brandon As one of our over 6.9 million FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote YES on the Cruz amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act, S. 1177. This amendment would eliminate federal testing requirements for the states. One of the worst things about the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind is the maintenance of requirements that the states implement uniform testing programs, the results of which are then reported to the Department of Education. The Constitution provides no role for the federal government in education, and each state should be free to design and implement tests without having to seek bureaucratic approval. Read More here... 4. Hillary's War on The "Sharing Economy" - by Remso Martinez During her recent speech at the New School in Manhattan, Hillary Clinton declared war to be waged between her potential presidential administration and what she labeled the "sharing economy" (or "contractor economy"), which include app based technology services such as Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb, which Clinton has accused of " undercut wages." An all-out political assault on these services is a strange move for the Democrat; according to Breitbart writer Joel Pollak, this decision in her platform may in fact "surprise millennial consumers, whose loyalty to the Democratic Party has largely been blind, and who have presumed that the party of government shared their love for technology." Read more here... 5. Liberty Beats: The Unconventional Generation  6. Key Vote Yes on the Lee Amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act - by Adam Brandon  As one of our over 6.9 million FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote YES on the Lee amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act, S. 1177. This amendment would allow parents to opt their children out of standardized tests for any reason. Federal testing mandates and an overemphasis on testing in general are harming state autonomy, and the ability of teachers to effectively manage classroom time. By focusing too heavily on test results, teachers are forced to devote their time to test preparation rather than training children how to think critically, a perverse incentive that has led to at least one mass cheating scandal. Read more here... Iris Somberg Press Secretary, FreedomWorks