Constitutional Point Of Order On Obamacare Bill
From a news release by Jim DeMint’s office…
Today, U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) and John Ensign (R-Nevada), raised a Constitutional Point of Order on the Senate floor against the Democrat health care takeover bill on behalf of the Steering Committee, a caucus of conservative senators. The Senate will vote tomorrow on the bill’s constitutionality.
“I am incredibly concerned that the Democrats’ proposed individual mandate provision takes away too much freedom and choice from Americans across the country,” said Senator Ensign. “As an American, I felt the obligation to stand up for the individual freedom of every citizen to make their own decision on this issue. I don’t believe Congress has the legal authority to force this mandate on its citizens.”
“Forcing every American to purchase a product is absolutely inconsistent with our Constitution and the freedoms our Founding Fathers hoped to protect,” said Senator DeMint. “This is not at all like car insurance, you can choose not to drive but Americans will have no choice whether to buy government-approved insurance. This is nothing more than a bailout and takeover of insurance companies. We’re forcing Americans to buy insurance under penalty of law and then Washington bureaucrats will then dictate what these companies can sell to Americans. This is not liberty, it is tyranny of good intentions by elites in Washington who think they can plan our lives better than we can.”
Americans who fail to buy health insurance, according to the Democrats’ bill, would be subject to financial penalties. The senators believe the bill is unconstitutional because the insurance mandate is not authorized by any of the limited enumerated powers granted to the federal government. The individual mandate also likely violates the “takings” clause of the 5th Amendment.
The Democrats’ healthcare reform bill requires Americans to buy health insurance “whether or not they ever visit a doctor, get a prescription or have an operation.” If an American chooses not to buy health insurance coverage, they will face rapidly increasing taxes that will rise to $750 or 2% of their taxable income, whichever is greater.
The Congressional Budget Office once stated “A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States.”
A legal study by scholars at the nonpartisan Heritage Foundation concluded: “An individual mandate to enter into a contract with or buy a particular product from a private party, with tax penalties to enforce it, is unprecedented– not just in scope but in kind–and unconstitutional as a matter of first principles and under any reasonable reading of judicial precedents.”
DeMint and Ensign have thrown down another gauntlet of opposition to the health-care bill, though it’s a little unclear how much of a delay this move will cause. What’s true, though, is that every member of the Senate will now have to go on record on the question of whether they think it’s constitutional for the federal government to force individuals to buy health insurance.
We’ve seen some high comedy thus far on the constitutionality question, from Mary Landrieu’s “constutitional scholars” speech to Roland Burris’ “health, welfare and defense” clause” to Nancy Pelosi’s “Are you serious? Are you serious?” misrecital of The Joker. Safe to say that the constitutionality of an individual mandate isn’t the strong point of the Democrat argument; DeMint and Ensign are going to force them to stand in the sunshine on the question.
And good for them for doing that. I'm also hearing, though I haven't had time to verify, that the bill also includes provisions that certain components cannot be repealed by future bodies of Congress, and that such provisions may also be unconstitutional.
Constitutionality has not been a concern of the majority in Congress, as evidenced by your cites. Their concern is with power, pork, and "making history" by passing unprecedented (spelled "unwanted") legislation.
And good for them for doing that. I'm also hearing, though I haven't had time to verify, that the bill also includes provisions that certain components cannot be repealed by future bodies of Congress, and that such provisions may also be unconstitutional.
Constitutionality has not been a concern of the majority in Congress, as evidenced by your cites. Their concern is with power, pork, and "making history" by passing unprecedented (spelled "unwanted") legislation.
They need to bring up these points one at a time and continue dragging this thing out as long as possible.
The revelation that these clowns put an ACORN funding mechanism back into the bill might, as Ryan said last night, be the poison pill which destroys this thing – particularly when it gets to the House. All those "Blue Dogs" whose districts went for Bush or McCain the last two elections, and there are some 80-someodd of them, are going to know it's suicide to vote to fund ACORN.
It just takes time. The bill is 2,700 pages long. There is no way the Democrats can write 2,700 pages of legislation without dozens of provisions that grievously offend the vast majority of the American people. With time to smell out all of these rotten fish-heads, their majority will break. DeMint and Ensign have done what the GOP leadership should have been doing for at least a month; kudos to them and a big lump of coal for Mitch McConnell for his weak strategy on this bill.
They need to bring up these points one at a time and continue dragging this thing out as long as possible.
The revelation that these clowns put an ACORN funding mechanism back into the bill might, as Ryan said last night, be the poison pill which destroys this thing – particularly when it gets to the House. All those "Blue Dogs" whose districts went for Bush or McCain the last two elections, and there are some 80-someodd of them, are going to know it's suicide to vote to fund ACORN.
It just takes time. The bill is 2,700 pages long. There is no way the Democrats can write 2,700 pages of legislation without dozens of provisions that grievously offend the vast majority of the American people. With time to smell out all of these rotten fish-heads, their majority will break. DeMint and Ensign have done what the GOP leadership should have been doing for at least a month; kudos to them and a big lump of coal for Mitch McConnell for his weak strategy on this bill.
Now I hear they've all agreed to an early vote so they can go home for Christmas. This fight is over, but we can take the hill during reconciliation.
Now I hear they've all agreed to an early vote so they can go home for Christmas. This fight is over, but we can take the hill during reconciliation.