House Hearing: Could the Individual Mandate Create a National Police Power?

Kathryn Nix / February 24, 2011

Last week, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the constitutionality of the individual mandate. The mandate has been declared unconstitutional by federal courts in Virginia and Florida, and appeals are pending in those cases.

The committee heard from three legal experts: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Duke University law professor Walter Dellinger, and Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett. Testimony touched on several aspects of the individual mandate, which requires Americans to purchase a level of coverage deemed appropriate by the Department of Health and Human Services or else pay a penalty.

A main focus of the discussion was how allowing the individual mandate to stand would change the powers of Congress. Proponents of Obamacare claimed the power to require all citizens to purchase insurance is constitutional under the Commerce Clause, which allows Congress to regulate interstate economic activity. But since the mandate actually regulates economic inactivity, it is unprecedented. (more…)