Defending the Constitution: Secrets behind those ‘obscure’ provisions
Here are questions and answers addressing five of the Constitution’s less famous provisions.
It’s time to truly test the constitutionality of Obamacare
Previous Origination Clause plaintiffs lost because they attacked Obamacare’s taxes instead of its regulations. Plaintiffs suing for relief from regulations that harm them may have more success.
New Origination Clause Article Now Published
The Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy has now published my article on the Origination Clause. That’s the article documenting the research that found—contrary to all expectations—that the taxes in Obamacare were validly adopted. But it also found that the regulations and appropriations in Obamacare were invalidly adopted. You can read a summary of […]
Did Obamacare Violate the Constitution’s Origination Clause? No. . . and Yes
Note: This a modified version of an article that appeared at The American Thinker. Two years ago, the Supreme Court declared Obamacare’s penalty for failure to purchase conforming insurance to be a “tax.” Several plaintiffs subsequently sued in federal court arguing that the penalty is invalid for violating the Constitution’s Origination Clause. The Origination Clause […]
The Results Are In: The Obamacare “Penalty” Didn’t Violate the Origination Clause, but Obamacare’s Regulations Did
Is the penalty for not buying insurance in the Affordable Care Act (ACA—Obamacare) unconstitutional as a “tax” that originated in the Senate? Under the Constitution’s Origination Clause, the answer appears to be “no”—the Senate’s decision to add the penalty to the underlying bill was not a violation of that Clause. But under the same provision, […]
Is the Obamacare Mandate Unconstitutional Because It Originated in the Senate?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or “Obamacare”) imposes a sliding-scale financial penalty on people who do not buy health insurance conforming to federal standards. In NFIB v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court upheld the penalty as a constitutional “tax.” But that may not be the last word on its constitutionality. A lawsuit brought […]
