Cuccinelli Tells Democrats Suit Cost $350, Could Save $1B

By Sarah Sonies Thursday, April 01, 2010

RICHMOND – Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he has spent only $350 to sue the federal government in hopes of overturning the federal health care legislation signed last week by President Barack Obama.

That represents the fee to file the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, and “there has been no additional cost above this amount,” Cuccinelli said in a statement issued Tuesday. He was responding to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Virginia Democrats, who contend that the suit is frivolous.

“The litigation is being handled entirely by the attorney general’s staff. The office also does not expect much outside cost, as outside counsel has not been retained,” Cuccinelli’s statement said. “Additionally, since the case is centered around a purely legal constitutional argument, the office anticipates no material costs for things such as discovery, witnesses, etc.”

Cuccinelli says that the federal health care law is unconstitutional and that it would cost Virginia more than $1 billion in additional Medicaid costs.

“If the suit is successful, the savings to the Commonwealth of Virginia alone is estimated by the governor’s office to be about $1.1 billion from 2015-2022,” he said.

Virginia Democrats asked for the records of Cuccinelli and his staff in preparing the suit; a list of conference calls or written correspondence between the attorney general’s office and other groups in planning the lawsuit; the names of any outside firms contracted to assist with the lawsuit; and the attorney general’s full schedule since taking office.

“Instead of tackling important issues that Virginians are dealing with everyday, like helping citizens who are facing home foreclosure or being exploited by predatory lending, our attorney general has spent his first three months in office promoting his radical agenda,” Dave Mills, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, stated in a press release.

“Standing in the way of the health care reform that Virginians need is unacceptable.”

Cuccinelli, a Republican and former state senator from Fairfax, has also sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, challenging its findings on global warming.

He maintains that he was elected to defend the U.S. and Virginia constitutions – and that the federal government has overreached on both health care and environmental edicts.

Cuccinelli also has said that his office’s involvement in the federal lawsuits has not detracted from its other duties.

“The Attorney General of Virginia has a duty to defend all validly enacted Virginia laws from any challenge or unconstitutional encroachment, and that’s what I intend to do with the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act,” Cuccinelli said. The General Assembly passed the Health Care Freedom Act this year, declaring that no one can force Virginians to buy health insurance.

But Democratic groups have raised questions about Cuccinelli’s lawsuits in hopes of scoring political points. They also have criticized Cuccinelli for telling Virginia’s public universities and colleges that they should remove gays and lesbians from their anti-discrimination policies – a decision overturned by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

The group Virginia Young Democrats has started a Web site called dropthelawsuit.com, hoping to pressure Cuccinelli to abandon the health care action. As of Wednesday, about 500 people had signed the online petition.

“Yet again, Virginia’s attorney general has decided to seek the front page instead of doing the job he was elected to do,” said Sean Holihan, president of the organization.

The state Democratic Party as a whole has launched an online petition “calling on Ken Cuccinelli to stop wasting our tax dollars on his political stunts.” In less than a week, more than 11,000 people signed the petition, Mills said.

State Democratic Chairman Richard Cranwell said the federal health care law will benefit millions of Virginians by lowering insurance premiums and prescription costs and prohibiting discrimination against people because of pre-existing conditions.

“Cuccinelli has decided to wage a fruitless war against health care reform – by filing a frivolous lawsuit against the federal government,” Cranwell said.