I am surprised that more is not being mentioned about some fundamental constitutional issues surrounding the U.S. House’s current health care bill.
First, the First Amendment guarantees the right to religious freedom. But HR 3200 explicitly says that if I, for religious beliefs, choose to be either a cash payer for health care or choose to put my health in the hands of God, then the government will tax me at 2.5 percent of my adjusted gross income. So much for religious freedom.
Second, the Fourth Amendment guarantees the right to be secure in my person and papers from unwarranted searches. Yet the bill gives the federal government the right to access my financial information without warrant or cause. And finally, the powers of Congress enumerated in the Constitution only give Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
Since health insurance is something that an individual cannot shop for from state to state, health insurance is intrastate commerce and Congress has no constitutional authority to regulate or legislate it. I guess the rights and powers in the Constitution are something that our Congress feels are negotiable. Well, not for this American. I will fight to keep the rights that our founding fathers found were inalienable.
Byron Tatti
Burlington
