Hot on HuffPost:

See More Stories

George Will: Health Reform Provision Could Be Unconstitutional

2 years ago
  0 Comments Say Something  »
Text Size
Conservative columnist George Will writes that, where state laws protect citizens from mandated health care, a federal law fining people for not being covered could lead to constitutional challenges. Citing explicit clauses in the Arizona constitution and an Oregon "right to die" statute, both of which have been backed by higher courts, Will argues that relevant state laws would mount a serious challenge to compulsory health insurance.

"In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court held that under the Constitution's system of dual sovereignty, states' 'retained sovereignty' empowers them to 'remain independent and autonomous within their proper sphere of authority,' " Will writes. "The court has been critical of the 'federalism costs' of intrusive federal policies and recently has twice vindicated state sovereignty."

Will adds that in 1994, the Congressional Budget Office said that compulsory health insurance would be "an unprecedented federal action" and that "the government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States."
Filed Under: Health Care, Conservatives

Our New Approach to Comments

In an effort to encourage the same level of civil dialogue among Politics Daily’s readers that we expect of our writers – a “civilogue,” to use the term coined by PD’s Jeffrey Weiss – we are requiring commenters to use their AOL or AIM screen names to submit a comment, and we are reading all comments before publishing them. Personal attacks (on writers, other readers, Nancy Pelosi, George W. Bush, or anyone at all) and comments that are not productive additions to the conversation will not be published, period, to make room for a discussion among those with ideas to kick around. Please read our Help and Feedback section for more info.

Add a Comment

*0 / 3000 Character Maximum Comment Moderation Enabled. Your comment will appear after it is cleared by an editor.

Follow Politics Daily

  • Comics
robert-and-donna-trussell
CHAOS THEORY
Featuring political comics by Robert and Donna TrussellMore>>
  • Woman UP Video
politics daily videos
Weekly Videos
Woman Up, Politics Daily's Online Sunday ShowMore»
politics daily videos
TV Appearances
Showcasing appearances by Politics Daily staff and contributors.More>>