[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1063 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1063

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a mandate 
  imposed by the Federal Government requiring individuals to purchase 
                 health insurance is unconstitutional.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 2010

Mr. Sullivan (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Rooney, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. 
 Price of Georgia, Mr. Duncan, Ms. Jenkins, Ms. Fallin, Mr. Akin, Mr. 
 Cole, and Mr. Wittman) submitted the following resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a mandate 
  imposed by the Federal Government requiring individuals to purchase 
                 health insurance is unconstitutional.

Whereas in 1994, the Congressional Budget Office wrote that a mandate requiring 
        all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented 
        form of Federal action;
Whereas the Government has never required people to buy any good or service as a 
        condition of lawful residence in the United States;
Whereas H.R. 3962 contains an individual health insurance mandate to purchase 
        insurance or pay a tax as defined by the bureaucratic standards in the 
        bill;
Whereas the tax would constitute 2.5 percent of adjusted gross income, up to the 
        amount of the national average premium through the Government-run health 
        care exchange;
Whereas the health care reform bills that have passed the House of 
        Representatives and Senate require United States citizens to either 
        secure or purchase health insurance approved by the Federal Government 
        or face a financial penalty or even a possible prison sentence;
Whereas nowhere in the Constitution is Congress given the power to mandate that 
        an individual enter into a contract with a private party or purchase a 
        good or service;
Whereas the Supreme Court has never validated a Federal power as intrusive as 
        forcing all United States citizens to purchase a service due to their 
        very existence;
Whereas to uphold the health insurance mandate contained in H.R. 3962, the 
        Supreme Court would have to concede that the Commerce Clause of the 
        Constitution has no limits, a proposition that it has always denied;
Whereas the health insurance mandate does not purport to regulate or prohibit 
        activity of any kind, whether economic or noneconomic;
Whereas to the contrary, it purports to regulate inactivity;
Whereas the principal sponsors of the current bills before Congress have stated 
        that the individual mandate requiring United States citizens to buy 
        inflated health insurance policies is an essential part of their plan to 
        nationalize and subsidize much of the health care system in the United 
        States;
Whereas section 255 of H.R. 3962 and other unconstitutional provisions of the 
        legislation will render the rest of the legislation unworkable; and
Whereas Members of Congress are bound by their oath to uphold the Constitution, 
        and thus, are duty bound to oppose unconstitutional provisions of 
        legislation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) a mandate imposed by the Federal Government requiring 
        individuals to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional;
            (2) the individual health insurance mandate should be 
        removed from all pending national health care legislation in 
        Congress; and
            (3) all States should pass legislation protesting any 
        Federal health insurance mandate requiring individuals to 
        purchase Government-approved health insurance or pay a tax 
        penalty.
                                 <all>