The Unconstitutional Healthcare Bill

Valeria Dayer

Ms. Raney

English IV

7 April 2011

The Unconstitutional Healthcare Bill

An economic crisis is still rising each day. More and more people are living in panic. When people are scared, they turn to the government for help. They are afraid of losing their job, their home, and not having enough money to look after their families. Along with an economic crisis it is only logical that a healthcare crisis rises as well. It is natural for them to trust a government that is saying they will make a healthcare bill in which everyone will have healthcare and be looked after. However, the truth is that the government is using the people's fear and desperation to make the people provide Congress powers it does not have. It is true that we are facing a crisis and something must be done, but as citizens of this country we must make sure that the right procedures are taken to ensure an effective solution to the problem. The Healthcare Bill violates some of those procedures and the biggest authority of all, it violates our Constitution because Congress does not have the power to regulate healthcare.

To understand why the healthcare bill is unconstitutional we must focus on the bill itself. We must understand the documents and its foundation before we take a stand, and we must put aside the assumptions of what the bill can do for us, or the negative things it could bring. The healthcare bill was proposed by President Obama, with the intentions to ensure everyone's health by providing and requiring everyone to have healthcare, that beginning of 2014 most individuals will be required to have health insurance or pay a penalty (National Association of State Medicaid Directors). The NASMD also states some individuals who will not be required to buy health insurance such as American Indians, individuals with religious objections, individuals who can show financial hardship, and individuals without coverage for less than three months. The main objective is to reduce significantly the number of people without healthcare. However, by passing this bill Congress will mandate citizens to buy health care. Which leads us to the main question; can Congress mandate individuals to have healthcare insurance within the powers of the constitution?

In order to determine whether Congress has or does not have the power to require citizens to buy healthcare we must look and comprehend the processes, which deal with the issue. The most important document, which determines whether Congress has in fact this power, is our Constitution. The U.S. Constitution says that the federal government has the power to regulate commerce, which in this case would be healthcare, under The Commerce Clause. The Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to regulate trade and to regulate commerce among the states. The Constitution also states that for there to be commerce it must involve a trafficking of goods ("The Commerce Clause"). However, "the barrier between production and commerce is not as well defined" (Epstein) as well as the line between what is commerce and what is not. By understanding that the Constitution classifies commerce as trade we can also comprehend that this trade is simply economic activity. What is economic activity exactly? Economic activity means getting other people to do things voluntarily for you, it involves trade, specialization, exchange, and discovery (kling). When we apply this definition to the healthcare bill it is clear that no economic activity exists in people not choosing to buy healthcare. The opposing argument to this is that activity is also choosing to be inactive, but according the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it states that the word "Activity" means the state or quality of being active. Nowhere does it state that activity could also mean inactivity, this is Congress overstretching their power to rule something they do not have power over.

Assuming that there was economic activity in not buying healthcare Congress does not have the power to require people to buy it. The federal government is limited and has enumerated powers, which are a few, and definite, and healthcare is not one of them (The New American). The Tenth Amendment of our Constitution states that the federal government has no powers except those delegated to it. If we think about our founding fathers and their thinking process while writing our Constitution, we should all agree that their goal and their vision of our nation was to have a limited government, and therefore, would not give Congress the power to regulate healthcare. Something else to think about is that our current president is a democrat. Democrats are believed to be liberals. Liberals think the government should not rule on abortion of same sex marriage. Shouldn't they also believe that Congress should not regulate healthcare? The truth is that congress is stretching the definition of commerce in order to regulate healthcare an act that violates our constitution. We must think before we take a stand and reflect upon the authority Congress has over healthcare, which is none. Everyone knows there is a crisis and a solution must be found to the problem, but we shall not let congress use this crisis to manipulate our fears and take powers they do not have. If the scenario was different and it was the States not Congress who was trying to regulate healthcare it would be in fact constitutional. Why? Because it is the obligation of the states to provide welfare, which includes security, education, and should also include healthcare. Also according to The Commerce Clause Congress cannot regulate relations between a man and a state or between parts of the state, Congress is delegated to regulate trade and trafficking of goods between nations and between the states ("The Commerce Clause"). Once again this proves that The Commerce Clause does not grant the federal government the power to regulate commerce or the power to require people to buy healthcare.

Congress itself cannot provide the proof we want them to provide us with in which states that the constitution provides Congress with the power to regulate healthcare. In an interview with CNS Senator Patrick Leahy was asked where in the constitution did it state that congress in fact had the authority. His answer was "Where on the constitution does it say we have the authority to set the speed limit on interstate highways?" (Cover).

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