House Resolution Calls PPACA Unconstitutional
12/07/11
By Hadley Heath
Rep. Phil Roe, M.D., of Tennessee has introduced H. Res. 475, "Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional." The resolution already has 53 cosponsors. The text of the resolution is as follows:
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.
Whereas section 5000A(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, added by section 1501 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and commonly referred to as the ‘‘individual mandate’’, and the penalty provision in section 5000A(b) of such Code that enforces it, are unconstitutional because they were not an exercise of Congress’s power to tax, and they are beyond Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause; and
Whereas the individual mandate and the penalty provision that enforces it are not severable from the remainder of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148): Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
(1) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional in its entirety; and
(2) section 7421 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, commonly referred to as the ‘‘Anti-Injunction Act’’, applies neither to the individual mandate nor to the penalty provision that enforces it, and therefore does not preclude the Federal courts from finding that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional in its entirety.
While I'm sure some Members of Congress (who also served in the 111th Congress) would point to their vote on the PPACA as evidence of their support or opposition to it, there's an important distinction to be made between a "bad law" and an "unconstitutional law." The House already voted early this year to repeal the PPACA, so it's clear that a majority of today's Representatives think of ObamaCare as a "bad law." However, this resolution, should it pass, would express that a majority of currently serving Members in the House think of ObamaCare as an unconstitutional law. Rep. Roe is encouraging his colleagues to support this legislation because he says, as a coequal branch of government, it is important for Congress to express its views on this law that is on its way to judgment at the Supreme Court.
It makes sense that our leaders in Congress would take a position on this issue, because in their oath of office, they promise to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States."
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