The Constitutionality of the New Health Care Bill Essay

The Constitutionality of the New Health Care Bill - Essay Example This seems like such a noble course that any administration would want to take up. The contention that has arisen is the question that the panels of legal experts at the judiciary committee hearings is whether any arm of the government, in this case, whether Congress has any powers under section 8, Article I, of the Constitution, to force people to take up a health policy. There are those who think that Congress has legitimate authority to do this on one side, while on the other, there are those who are convinced that this move is not constitutional or lacks the constitutional mandate to be supported. One clear opposition for the health care bill comes for Senator Grassley of Iowa. According to him the overhaul of the healthcare system would cause major problems, among them being the question of an individual’s mandate. Up until now, there are four district court judges who have made rulings as to the merits of the overhaul of health care. Two judges appointed by Republican pr esidents have struck down the entire law, including the mandated provisions on one hand, on the other; two judges appointed by Democratic presidents have upheld the law as being constitutional. The question remains is it really unconstitutional. The Constitutionality Question This paper endeavors to reveal the unconstitutionality of the bill. The fundamental reason that this paper presents this position is based on the fact that the individual mandate of the law is within the legal bounds of the powers of Congress under the clause of commerce. This is based on the argument that insurance of a person’s health would generally qualify as a rule of commerce. Under the constitutions’ commerce clause, Congress has the power to set rules that would govern commercial activities. There is a proposition that has been put forward by those claiming that the bill is unconstitutional because individual mandate can be objected. It is based on this argument that opposition to the heal th care bill has been found. It is argued that there is no way Congress should have the power to regulate how an individual makes the decision to purchase or not to purchase health care policies. However, the provisions of the Constitution do not prevent or limit the powers and mandates of Congress. There is no law constitutional or otherwise that in text or common law or any other doctrine that limits the extent to which Congress can regulate any activity. This fact that Congress can require every American citizen to purchase insurance for health from a private company, more so penalize those who do not do this. Under the commerce clause that has been raised above, Congress has the power to regulate commerce in several states. It should be noted that the legislative branch of the government has the duty to make the laws of the country. Up until now, it remains the only arm of the United States government that existed, albeit in a different form, before the constitution was enacted. It was the view of those who framed the constitution that Congress will be a strong arm of government as compared to the judicial and the executive branches. It is for this reason that the powers of Congress were spelled out in very considerable details. To check Congress, the powers of this arm of government were also checked and limits put upon it to ensure there was a balance in its weight as against the