Health Insurance and Enumerated Powers: Congress claims the healthcare bill is Constitutional. Do you agree?

http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/health-insurance-and-enumerated-powers-congress-claims-the-healthcare-bill-is-constitutional-do-you-agree

The Enumerated Powers Act (EPA) requires that every bill must specify its source of Constitutional authority. This would prove very embarrassing to Congress, because there is no Constitutional authority for most of what they pass.

Good news!

Two more House members have co-sponored EPA over the past month, bringing the toal to 56. Sadly, the Senate is still stuck at 22 co-sponsors. You can find . . .

* The House co-sponsors here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-450
* And the Senate co-sponsors here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1319

Let's flood Congress with letters demanding that every member co-sponsor the Enumerated Powers Act. https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/87

Here is what I wrote in my letter . . .

An example of a tortured justification for an unconstitutional bill is found in Section 1501 of H.R. 3590. It tries to explain the Constitutionality of forcing individuals to buy health insurance.

I suggest you read Cato's Robert A. Levy and Michael F. Cannon commentary on this. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11042:

As well as economist Fred Foldvary's commentary. http://www.progress.org/2009/fold643.htm

Congress asserts it can compel Americans to purchase health insurance because NOT purchasing health insurance impacts interstate commerce.

* But for decades Congress has allowed states to bar their residents from purchasing health insurance from another state.
* Which means Congress never previously believed that the purchase (or non-purchase) of health insurance was interstate commerce.
* The decision to NOT purchase a good or service is NOT commerce, let alone interstate commerce.
* But under the absurd logic of this bill, if I choose to take a nap rather than go to a movie, I'm engaging in "commerce" and Congress can compel me to either go to the movie or pay a tax penalty.

In any case, the Commerce Clause is limited by other provisions in the Constitution, such as the Ninth Amendment. As Foldvary states, "the Ninth Amendment recognizes there are moral and common-law rights that exist prior to and apart from the U.S. Constitution." An individual who chooses to NOT purchase health insurance is NOT harming others. He may be making a rational estimate that the costs of insurance will be larger than the cost of the care he will expect to receive. Whether we agree with his assessment or not, he certainly has a right to control his own body and money. His decision to not purchase insurance does not constitute a violation of anyone else's rights. Forcing him to purchase a service he does not want, however, is a clear violation of his rights.

Moreover, the tax penalty in the bill is unconstitutional. As Levy and Cannon state, it is not an income tax or an excise tax, but "is a fixed amount based on family size. That means it's levied per person and therefore a 'direct tax' under the Constitution, which requires that such taxes be apportioned among the states according to their population, as determined by the census."

And Levy and Cannon conclude, "Congress' attempt to punish a non-act that harms no one is an intolerable affront to the Constitution, liberty, and personal autonomy. That shameful fact cannot be altered by calling it health-care reform."

Any judge or informed citizen should find the reasoning of Section 1501 laughable. That's the very reason I'm glad it's in the healthcare bill. Please oppose the unconscionable and unconstitutional healthcare bill. And then please pass the Enumerated Powers Act and force Congress to try to justify other unconstitutional bills.

END LETTER

You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org's Educate the Powerful System. https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/87

And share this Dispatch with your friends.

James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org

P.S. Several members of Congress have been asked about the Constitutionality of the indivdiual mandate in the healthcare bill. You can see their responses in these two blog posts:

http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/where-in-the-constitution

http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/where-in-the-constitution-part-2

More questions for Congress

Two weeks ago, we asked you to write Congress about the Constitutionality of the War on Drugs. Some in Congress responded, but none answered our questions.

Even so, we must keep asking such questions. The more we ask, the more nervous Congress will become. Eventually, they will be forced to either answer our questions or admit publicly that they don't care what the Constitution says.

We believe Congress's refusal to answer our questions underscores the need for the Enumerated Powers Act (EPA). We urge you to demand that Congress pass this bill.

Since we last resported on the EPA in September, the House has increased the number of co-sponsors from 48 to 52, and the Senate increased its co-sponsor list from 21 to 22.

You can find House co-sponsors of the EPA here.

And co-sponsors of the Senate version are here.

If any of your House or Senate representatives has co-sponsored the bill, send them your congratulations and urge those who haven't to do so.

In my personal comments, I also asked more questions . . .

"Two weeks ago I asked you about the Constitutionality of the War on Drugs, and you haven't answered my questions. But the issue is larger than drugs. Congress is considering legislation that affects what food people can grow on their own land. Congress is also considering legislation that can force people to purchase health insurance against their will.

Do people not have a natural right to control their own person and property?

Article I, Section 8 empowers Congress to regulate commerce between the states and with other nations, but I see no provision that empowers Congress to control my life and property directly. Do you think I'm incorrect? Maybe I am. But if so, how?

If Congress presumes to tell us what to do with our own lives, shouldn't it at least cite where it gets the authority to do so?

The Enumerated Powers Act is not a complicated proposal. If you believe the bills you support and sponsor are Constitutional, EPA won't be a problem. That's because all it requires is for Congress to specify the constitutional authority for the laws they pass.

But the longer you dodge these Constitutional questions, and the longer you avoid sponsoring the Enumerated Powers Act, the more I'll be forced to conclude that you believe most bills you support are unconstitutional."

You can send your message here.

And we encourage you to share this message with friends:http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/more-questions-for-congress

James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org

Big Business Loves Big Government

Today's Downsizer-Dispatch . . .

http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/2008/may/05/big_business_loves_big_government

Quote of the Day:

"Why not take advantage of the clever Downsize DC system like I just did? Invest five minutes today to sign up, and then from time to time you, too, can help bombard congress and pressure them into doing the right thing with your money."

- "creator," a blogger at Truth Realm

Subject: Big Business Loves Big Government

Politicians tell us that government protects the people from the cut-throat practices of Big Business. But in truth, Big Government is in bed with Big Business. If I were CEO of a major corporation - let's call it the Big Widget Corporation - I would love Big Government. That's because I could:

• lobby Congress to subsidize the widget industry, explaining how vital widgets are to the economy.

• lobby for tariff protection against imported widgets. This will allow my company to gouge American consumers with higher prices.

• lobby for regulations that would drive my smaller competitors out of business.

But what is good for the Big Widget Corporation's shareholders isn't necessarily good for the American taxpayers, who must pay for this special treatment. That's why we want the Big Government-Big Business marriage to end in divorce. We can break up the marriage by changing the way Congress does things.

• John Shadegg's Enumerated Powers Act would would require Congress to reference the specific clause(s) of the U.S. Constitution that grant them the power to enact the law they are considering. Because the Constitution doesn't authorize Congress to subsidize industries or grant special favors for particular businesses, Congress will have an impossible time justifying special-interest legislation. Tell Congress to pass the Enumerated Powers Act here.

• Downsize DC's One Subject at a Time Act would prevent Congress from adding unpopular or special-interest legislation into otherwise popular and much-needed bills. You can tell Congress to introduce this bill here.

• Downsize DC's Read the Bills Act (RTBA) would prevent bad provisions and special favors from sneaking into bills at the last minute. If you have not sent a message to Congress telling them to introduce the RTBA, or haven't done so in a while, you can do so here.

You can also help us by joining the Read the Bills Act coalition. Visitors to your blog or website will see our web-ad, which will take them to the RTBA campaign page where they will learn more. In turn, we will link to your site at our blog and announce your membership in a Downsizer-Dispatch. For information on joining the Coalition, click here.

This week we welcome three new members to the Coalition:

Thunder Radio's March of Liberty
Liberty's Haven
A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Finally, over the past two weeks the House passed 28 bills totaling 725 pages, while the Senate passed 29 bills totaling 286 pages. A list of these bills can be found below my signature at the home blog version of this Dispatch.

Thank you for being a DC Downsizer.

James Wilson
Assistant to the President
DownsizeDC.org