[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HEALTH CARE BILL--CONSTITUTIONAL?

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, the universal health care bill 
forces businesses and individuals to purchase health insurance. It 
raises at least two constitutional issues.
  The Constitution doesn't give the Federal Government direct authority 
to compel the purchase of health insurance. So the Supreme Court would 
once again have to come in and by judicial edict give government the 
intrusive power to do what it obviously cannot do now: stretch the 
meaning of the Commerce Clause.
  Can the Federal Government force people to buy health insurance 
whether they can afford it or not? Can the Federal Government then 
impose a criminal fine on them under the guise of calling it a tax if 
they fail to buy the insurance?
  Then what happens if the citizen doesn't pay the fine? Do they go to 
jail without the benefit of trial by jury? Do they lose their right to 
confront witnesses and have a lawyer?
  Congress's forcing mandatory health insurance on Americans and then 
imposing criminal sanctions without due process is a violation of the 
Constitution. This action would shock the Framers of our Constitution.
  These serious constitutional issues cannot be ignored in the haste to 
have the government take over America's health.
  And that's just the way it is.

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