[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 26702]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       BRUISING THE CONSTITUTION

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the government-run universal health 
care bill forces businesses and citizens to buy the government-approved 
insurance whether they want to or not, and whether they can afford it 
or not. This is a totalitarian concept.
  The Constitution does not give this oppressive power to the Federal 
Government. Nowhere in this document does government have the power to 
force citizens to buy anything. And further, if a citizen or business 
doesn't purchase the insurance, a criminal fine masquerading as a tax 
is imposed without benefit of a jury trial or legal representation. If 
the citizen cannot afford the fine, do they go to jail without 
constitutional protections?
  This bill is an affront to individual liberty. It denies the citizen 
of life, liberty and property, and violates due process of law under 
the fifth amendment.
  The false analogy that citizens must buy car insurance is not 
applicable. Driving is a privilege and an option regulated by the 
States. No one is forced to own or drive a car. Here everyone is forced 
to buy insurance or face a criminal penalty.
  Somewhere in this debate we ought to be concerned with the Federal 
Government bruising the Constitution.
  And that's just the way it is.

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