Hoyer says Constitution’s ‘General Welfare’ clause empowers congress to order Americans to buy health insurance.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) pictured right said that the individualhealth insurance mandates included in every health reform bill, whichrequire Americans to have insurance, were “like paying taxes.” He addedthat Congress has “broad authority” to force Americans to purchaseother things as well, so long as it was trying to promote “the generalwelfare.”
The Congressional Budget Office, however, has stated in the past that amandate forcing Americans to buy health insurance would be an “unprecedented form of federal action,”and that the “government has never required people to buy any good orservice as a condition of lawful residence in the United States.”
Hoyer, speaking to reporters at his weekly press briefing onTuesday, was asked by CNSNews.com where in the Constitution wasCongress granted the power to mandate that a person must by a healthinsurance policy. Hoyer said that, in providing for the generalwelfare, Congress had “broad authority.”
“Well, in promoting the general welfare the Constitution obviouslygives broad authority to Congress to effect that end,” Hoyer said. “Theend that we’re trying to effect is to make health care affordable, so Ithink clearly this is within our constitutional responsibility.”
Hoyer compared a health insurance mandate to the government’s power tolevy taxes, saying “we mandate other things as well, like paying taxes.”
The section of the Constitution Hoyer was referring to, Article I,Section 8, outlines the powers of Congress, including raising taxes,but not the purchasing any type of product or service. The openingparagraph of Section 8 grants Congress the power to raise taxes to,among other things, “provide for the … general welfare of the UnitedStates.”
Section 8 partly reads: “The Congress shall have Power to lay andcollect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts andprovide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the UnitedStates; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughoutthe United States.”
The Constitution then details the specific powers of Congress,including raising an Army and Navy, regulating commerce between states,and to “make all laws necessary and proper” for the carrying out ofthese enumerated powers.
“To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying intoExecution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by thisConstitution in the Government of the United States, or in anyDepartment or Officer thereof,” concludes Section 8.
CNSNews.com also asked Hoyer if there is a limit to what Congress canmandate that Americans purchase and whether there is anything thatspecifically could not be mandated to purchase. Hoyer said thateventually the Supreme Court would find a limit to Congress’ power,adding that mandates that unfairly favored one person or company overanother would obviously be unconstitutional.
“I’m sure the [Supreme] Court will find a limit,” Hoyer said. “Forinstance, if we mandated that you buy General Motors’ automobiles, Ibelieve that would be far beyond our constitutional responsibility andindeed would violate the Due Process Clause as well – in terms of equaltreatment to automobile manufacturers.”
U.S. Constitution
Hoyersaid that the insurance mandate was constitutional because Congress isnot forcing Americans to buy one particular policy, just any healthinsurance policy.
“We don’t mandate that they buy a particular insurance [policy] butwhat we do mandate is that like driving a car — if you’re going todrive a car, to protect people on the roadway, and yourself, and thepublic for having to pay your expenses if you get hurt badly – that youneed to have insurance,” said Hoyer.
In 1994, the Congressional Budget Office reportedthe following about health insurance mandates: “A mandate requiring allindividuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented formof federal action. The government has never required people to buy anygood or service as a condition of lawful residence in the UnitedStates. An individual mandate would have two features that, incombination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty onindividuals as members of society. Second, it would require people topurchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by thefederal government.”
Under all five of the health care bills currently being considered inCongress, every American adult would have to have a policy thatconformed to government standards for coverage and premiums. Each billcreates Bronze, Silver, and Gold health insurance plans and mandatesthat Americans buy one of them, either through their employer orthrough government-run exchanges.
David B. Rivkin, a constitutional lawyer with Baker & Hostetler,told CNSNews.com that Hoyer’s argument was “silly,” adding that if thegeneral welfare clause was that elastic, then nothing would be outsideof Congress’ powers.
“Congressman Hoyer is wrong,” Rivkin said. “The notion that the generalwelfare language is a basis for a specific legislative exercise is allsilly because if that’s true, because general welfare language isinherently limitless, then the federal government can do anything.
“The arguments are, I believe, feeble,” he said.