GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The health bills in Congress rob you of your constitutional rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! Here are a few of the provisions in the bills that fail the constitutionality test.

The mandate included in these health care bills to make people purchase health insurance exceeds the government's constitutional authority. Senator Orin Hatch said on the Senate floor, "If Congress may require individuals to purchase a particular good or service . . . We could simply require that Americans buy certain cars . . . for that matter, we could attach the problem of obesity by requiring Americans to buy fruits and vegetables." The Constitution does not give the government the authority to require that citizens purchase ANY products, including insurance.

Section 3403 of the Senate bill establishes a commission to CUT Medicare spending. As if that isn't bad enough, it also states that the law CAN'T be changed or repealed in the future! If Congress does this, it means that any bill passed by Congress could never be changed or repealed! That totally undermines the Constitutional representative government. The Constitution gives us the right to elect a new Congress, to repeal what a previous Congress has done, and to change anything that Congress does by the appropriate vote.

Some Congress members claim the "general welfare clause" of the Constitution empowers them to impose a mandate to purchase health insurance. They are taking the phrase out of context. The Constitution gives Congress power to tax and spend for the general welfare, but not to make other kinds of laws for the general welfare (like mandating citizens to purchase insurance)!

The Senate bill (pages 320-324) claims the "interstate commerce" clause of the Constitution gives Congress this authority. For half a century the states have regulated health insurance. In fact, individuals are barred from buying insurance in any state except where they live, the antithesis of interstate commerce.

In 1995, the Supreme Court admonished Congress ( US vs. Lopez) against using the commerce clause as a basis for expanding lawmaking. The case involved the federal government assuming authority over areas that were under the authority of the states. The court ruled that Congress must stick to its Constitutionally enumerated powers.

Congressional majorities have frequently resorted to the commerce clause to justify their lawmaking. In 1935 the Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional. In FD Roosevelt's first term, under the NIRA, the federal government attempted to micromanage local businesses, setting wages and hours. The NIRA was declared unconstitutional!

Nothing in the Constitution permits the federal government to intrude into decisions made by doctors for privately insured patients, except on narrow issues such as drug safety. But the Senate bill makes you enroll in a "qualified plan" and then says that only doctors who do what the government dictates can be paid by your plan. Qualified plans can only contract with doctors who follow the regulations established by the Dept. of Health and Human Services!

The "takings clause" of the Fifth Amendment bars government from taking your property without compensation. It should protect everyone - including insurance companies. The Senate bill actually caps insurance company profit margins well below current levels, thus robbing private shareholders of their profits. What will stop Congress from putting caps on profit margins on other businesses that they wish to target?

These are only a few of the Constitutional conflicts in the health bills that have passed in Congress. Now, ordinary citizens, like you and I, will have to stand up for our Constitutional rights.

THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUE WITH THIS GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE BILL IS THAT IT SETS A VERY DANGEROUS PRECEDENT! It will give the federal government almost unlimited power to intrude in every facet of our lives, and in every facet of our economy. It will lay the foundation for single payer health care as it forces private health insurance plans out of business. It is extremely dangerous to our personal freedoms.

Congress and the President needs to be reminded that the Constitution defines and limits their powers. They are not dictators or kings who can act at their whim. They are elected representatives of the American people. It seems that they have forgotten this!