Whats in a bill?
From Michael Connelly - Retired attorney, Constitutional Law
Instructor, Carrollton , Texas
Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill
3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with
particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was
frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being
discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than
what I had heard or expected.
To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its
implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media
are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care,
particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are
involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion
services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of
the medical profession.
The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of
business and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions
about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal
bureaucrats and most of them will not be health care professionals.
Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of
necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.
However, as scary as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In
fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of
providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient
cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of
government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this
law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of
the United States will effectively have been destroyed.
The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power
between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S.
Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama
Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives
of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that
the Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate in most of those
areas to begin with. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S.
Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress
to regulate health care.
This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama
administration of all of your personal health care information, your
personal financial information, and the information of your employer,
physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation of the
specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting
against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about
the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion
regardless of what the
3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.
If you decide not to have health care insurance or if you have private
insurance that is not deemed "acceptable" to the "Health Choices
Administrator" appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. It
is called a "tax" instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid
application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However,
that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows
you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely
depriving someone of property without the "due process of law.
So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so
much out the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively
nullified by this law. It doesn't stop there though. The 9th Amendment
that provides: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people;" The 10th Amendment states: "The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Under the
provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people
nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many
areas that once were theirs to control.
I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you
get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power
and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members
of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation" to
support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be
able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I
was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway
I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.
For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they
consult the source. Here is a link to the Constitution:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
And another to the Bill of Rights:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.
Michael Connelly
Retired attorney, Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton , Texas
Instructor, Carrollton , Texas
Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill
3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with
particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was
frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being
discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than
what I had heard or expected.
To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its
implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media
are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care,
particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are
involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion
services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of
the medical profession.
The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of
business and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions
about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal
bureaucrats and most of them will not be health care professionals.
Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of
necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.
However, as scary as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In
fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of
providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient
cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of
government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this
law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of
the United States will effectively have been destroyed.
The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power
between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S.
Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama
Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives
of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that
the Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate in most of those
areas to begin with. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S.
Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress
to regulate health care.
This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama
administration of all of your personal health care information, your
personal financial information, and the information of your employer,
physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation of the
specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting
against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about
the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion
regardless of what the
3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.
If you decide not to have health care insurance or if you have private
insurance that is not deemed "acceptable" to the "Health Choices
Administrator" appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. It
is called a "tax" instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid
application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However,
that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows
you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely
depriving someone of property without the "due process of law.
So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so
much out the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively
nullified by this law. It doesn't stop there though. The 9th Amendment
that provides: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people;" The 10th Amendment states: "The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Under the
provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people
nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many
areas that once were theirs to control.
I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you
get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power
and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members
of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation" to
support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be
able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I
was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway
I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.
For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they
consult the source. Here is a link to the Constitution:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
And another to the Bill of Rights:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.
Michael Connelly
Retired attorney, Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton , Texas
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