Johanns: Health care bill unconstitutional

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Senator Mike Johanns today voted in favor of a Point of Order declaring that the Senate health care reform bill is unconstitutional, and that Congress lacks the authority to pass the bill into law. The Constitutional Point of Order was introduced by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) in response to concerns that certain provisions exceed the federal government’s constitutional powers. The Point of Order failed, 39-60.

Sen. Mike Johanns’ Office

During the health care debate, Sen. Johanns filed an amendment, which was blocked from consideration on the Senate floor, which would have expedited the process of reviewing the constitutionality of the bill’s individual health insurance mandate.”Congress’ constitutional power is not unlimited,” Johanns said.
“I spent a lot of time throughout this debate with my fellow Nebraskans who were very concerned about whether Congress even has the legal authority to force individuals to purchase coverage. This is a very serious question and the American people deserve an answer. That’s why I filed an amendment that would have expedited constitutional review of the individual mandate. This is not a matter of political posturing, but a matter of checks and balances.”

Fast Facts:

* The Constitutional Point of Order stems from the “commerce clause” in the Constitution (Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 3), which authorizes Congress to “regulate Commerce…among the several States.”

* The question of constitutionality arises from whether the individual mandate included in the Senate bill–which penalizes individuals for not having health insurance–falls outside this jurisdiction by regulating economic inactivity and forcing individuals into commercial activity.

3 thoughts on “Johanns: Health care bill unconstitutional”

  1. I have to laugh when I see such posts as “this is unconstitutional” because they government can’t MAKE US have health insurance, etc…really? Where were these senators when thousands of non-custodial fathers were told they must purchase insurance for their children of up to 9% of their income, whether they could afford it or not OR face JAIL TIME? Where were they? Were were the thousands of people today protesting this? Where were these people when divorced parents were told they MUST PAY FOR COLLEGE for their ADULT CHILDREN and in some cases, just plain financial support for a 21yr old, even if dad doesn’t have a roof over his head? Isn’t that unconstitutional too?

    As one of my favorite poems says…

    In Germany they first came for the Communists,
    and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

    Then they came for the Jews,
    and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

    Then they came for the trade unionists,
    and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

    Then they came for the Catholics,
    and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

    Then they came for me —
    and by that time no one was left to speak up.

    THIS IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED…nobody cared when thousands of fathers were forced into poverty, into hiding, into jail because of judges, states, women unconstitutionally STEALING their money and telling them what they had to spend their money on…now it’s your turn…

    And for anyone else that is worried about what might happen next, you might want to check child support laws all over the country, especially Texas, New York, etc…I do believe our government “tries out” these laws on divorced parents to see how widely they public accepts them…once accepted, they move into the general population…so, enjoy…

  2. You are right, Nancy. Congress has been passing unconstitutional laws for decades,
    and we’ve snoozed right through as long as it didn’t seem to affect too many of us.
    But as tyranny grows, people start to wake up when their own lives are impacted, but
    by then the tyrants are firmly entrenched in their power to dictate.

    Even now, the only ones who want this are the ones still snoozing, the ones who don’t
    pay taxes and think someone else is going to pay so they get something for nothing.
    After all, being poor entitles one to the fruit of someone else’s labor. Little do
    they know that this is the carrot used to lure us into slavery.

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