The Health Care Bill and our U.S. Constitution

As I noted recently, I received my pocket Constitution and Declaration of Independence in the mail from the Heritage Foundation. I have it here with me as I write this post. If you don't already have yours, you can get it free from The Heritage Foundation.

Today's news was bombarded with reports about the House of Representatives' narrow (220-215) passage of the Health Care Bill, and the battle that lies ahead in the Senate.

It seems, however, that the debate over which Health Care Bill should be adopted may be a bit premature. Try as I did, I couldn't find anywhere within the United States Constitution that actually gives our National Government the power or authority to "overhaul" healthcare.

As you may or may not know, our Constitution is very clear about what the Government can and cannot do. Because our Founders were intelligent students of History, they knew that if left unchecked, the government would grow in power to the point of turning into something other than the Republic that it was created to be. In order to form a union of sovereign States which would be resilient against tyrants, our founders enumerated the things the national government could do. To make it perfectly clear, they listed the things the government could do, and reserved all other rights to the States.

Interestingly, governing the Health Care Industry is not an "enumerated" power of the government. Therefore, such power is, and should be, reserved for the States to decided if, how, when, and why they might impose regulations on Health Care within their own limits.

Now, some might argue that there is a part of the Constitution that is a "catch all" phrase. I'm talking about the well known "General Welfare" clause, which has been more misused than a three-dollar bill. While it has been used as a popular argument to expand the role of government, it is simply not an accurate interpretation of that portion of the Constitution.

The clear fact is that there is no hidden reservoir of power within the Constitution. All of the Powers were clearly listed in black and white, so there would be no need to wonder what was meant. In fact, the only people who choose to make "alternative" interpretations, are those who are trying to mis-quote and mis-use the Constitution for their own benefit. We've seen this sort of thing happen with the Bible as well. Some folks are very quick to ignore clear facts when they get in the way of their self-serving rogue interpretations.

This makes perfect sense, so if I've confused anyone, let me give you an example. For those of you following along with your handy pocket Constitution, I'm on page 19. Lets take a look at the beginning of Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution where the Congress if given the power to tax:

"The Congress shall have the Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States..."

We can simplify this even more, to help us focus. The simple logical statement that we want to look at here is:

"The Congress shall have the Power to lay and collect Taxes... to ... provide for the ... general Welfare of the United States..."

First, let us be clear that this enumerated power is the power to tax. It is not the power to provide for the general welfare. It is, in fact, the power to lay and collect taxes. All that follows the power to tax are high level examples of what the intended taxes are to be used for. If we interpret this clause to mean that the government can do anything it wants as long as it believes or can state that it is in the general welfare of the country, then we really don't need the rest of the Constitution. We could stop right here.

However, what we have next is not the end of Congress' enumerated "super power", but the next of a series of named powers to follow the power to tax. Our Founding Fathers clearly list everything that Congress has the power to do. And, all of these other enumerated powers are in fact for the general Welfare of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson had an important rule of interpretation that, if you will allow me to paraphrase, went like this: If any interpretation of any one part of the Constitution would in effect negate the need for rest of the document, that interpretation is incorrect.

Why would the framers enumerate that congress has the power to borrow money, regulate commerce, establish naturalization rules, coin money, establish post offices, declare war, etc. - if the "general Welfare" clause already covered everything? They wouldn't.

The fact is that for several generations the average American citizen has been asleep at the helm. We are responsible for ensuring that our liberties don't get taken away. Brick by brick we lay a foundation wall. Step by step we walk farther down a dark path. It is time to wake up and take responsibility for what is happening right now. There is still time to return to our core values, but we must act.

It seems sometimes people who are in power promote public apathy through over-complication of topics. If any one issue is so complex that it makes your head swim, you just might decide this isn't worth dealing with.

You could pick up a pen and paper and write a letter to your representatives informing them of your awakening to their unconstitutional shenanigans, but you will probably just grab the remote and a bag of chips. You could head out to the next Tea Party, but you'll probably just head for the couch and the safety of simple sound-bytes that obscure the true simplicity of Constitutionality. I hope you prove me wrong. I have hope that you do care.

You and I must act, if we hope to pass on a stronger Republic to the next generation. Blind delegation, ignorance, and apathy have gotten us to where we stand. The easy path is fraught with hand-outs and dependence. But the path to restore our liberty demands Independence and responsible action. Engage!