I have listed numerous quotes from members of Congress when asked where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority to force citizens to purchase health care insurance.
The answers are astounding! And if one of these members belongs to you, I suggest you give them a call and tell them to actually READ the Constitution.
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At the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Dec. 22, CNSNews.com asked Sen. Brown D- Ohio: “Where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority for an individual health care mandate.”
Brown said: “The same part of the Constitution that allows us to have Medicare. When I hear people that think this is a constitutional issue, my first question to them is, ‘Do you want to repeal Medicare?’ And some people, politically, are so extreme in this country that they want to repeal Medicare, and I think they’re dead wrong.”
At the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Dec. 22, CNSNews.com asked Senator Lautenberg D-NJ, “Specifically where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority to mandate that individuals have health insurance?”
Lautenberg said, “I am not going to answer that,” and then walked away.
At the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Dec. 22, CNSNews.com asked Sen. McCaskill (D-Mo.), “Specifically where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority to mandate that individuals buy health insurance?”
McCaskill said: “Well the -- we have all kinds of places where the government has gotten involved with health care and mandating insurance. In most states, the government mandates the buying of car insurance, and I can assure everyone that if anything in this bill is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court will weigh in.”
At the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Begich D- Alaska: “Where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to make an individual health [insurance] mandate?”
Begich said: “It think it’s just more stall tactics by the Republicans on the issue of health care, providing health care for millions of Americans. It’s a shame that they use these procedures to continue to delay the process.”
CNSNews.com asked Senator Bernie Sanders I-VT: “Where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority for a health insurance mandate?”
Sanders, a self-described socialist, said: “Where in the Constitution? Probably the same place that comes Medicare and Medicaid and the CHIP Program and the Veterans Administration, and the health care programs that we’ve been doing for many, many decades.”
At the Capitol on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Senator Conrad D-ND: “Could you specifically say where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority to mandate that individuals get health insurance?”
Conrad said: “No, but I’ll refer you to the legal counsel for the Senate and they’re the ones that lead there as the full legal basis for the individual mandate -- and I assume it’s in the Commerce clause.”
At the Capitol on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Sen. Feinstein D-CA: “Where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority for an individual health insurance mandate?”
Feinstein said: “Well, I would assume it would be in the Commerce clause of the Constitution. That’s how Congress legislates all kinds of various programs.”
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) says he is “not aware” of the Constitution giving Congress the authority to make individuals purchase health insurance, as the health care bills in both the House and Senate require.
When CNSNews.com asked whether the Constitution gives Congress the authority to make Americans buy health insurance, Sen. Akaka said: “I’m not aware of that, let me put it that way. But what we’re trying to do is to provide for people who have needs and that’s where the accessibility comes in, and one of the goals that we’re trying to present here is to make it accessible.”
When asked if there was a specific part of the Constitution that gives Congress the authority to make people buy health insurance, Akaka said: “Not in particular with health insurance. It’s not covered in that respect. But in ways to help citizens in our country to live a good life, let me say it that way, is what we’re trying to do, and in this case, we’re trying to help them with their health.”
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At the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 23, CNSNews.com asked Sen. Hutchison (R-Tex.), “Where in the Constitution do you think Congress is finding the authority to mandate that someone purchase health insurance?”
Senator Hutchison said: “There is no place in the Constitution that allows this trampling of individual rights, and I am going to make a point of order that it tramples on the 10th Amendment as well, the rights of states to regulate insurance. And, in my state, we have a self-insurance plan for state employees and teachers, and the federal government now has the right to intrude on that – and it’s not in the Constitution either.”
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