[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6091-6092]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO REFUSE

  (Mr. PALAZZO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, 8 months from now, the Affordable Care 
Act's individual mandate will begin to punish Americans with a tax 
simply because they refuse to purchase health care. The mandate sets a 
dangerous new precedent.
  If Congress has the power to tax our decision to not purchase health 
insurance, what else can a future Congress tax?
  The Supreme Court has opened Pandora's box and has allowed future 
Congresses to tax Americans for failing to

[[Page 6092]]

purchase any number of conceivable goods or services--basically, 
whatever Congress deems necessary.
  That's why I introduced House Joint Resolution 28, the Right to 
Refuse Amendment, which would effectively reverse the mandate taxes and 
permanently prevent Congress from forcing Americans to choose between a 
purchase and a tax. The amendment is short and simple: Congress shall 
make no law that imposes a tax on a failure to purchase goods or 
services.
  If my colleagues believe the Court got it wrong and if they believe 
in limited government, then I urge my colleagues to cosponsor House 
Joint Resolution 28.

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