Anti-commandeering: A legal method to block Obamacare

via South Carolina State Sen. Tom Davis

Here’s a 14-minute clip of me in the South Carolina State Senate last week, explaining my amendment to the anti-Obamacare bill now being debated:

In summary, my amendment would slow the spread of Obamacare in South Carolina by:

-Invoking the constitutional principle of anti-commandeering
-Requiring legislative approval for ACA grants and programs
-Rejecting the optional Medicaid expansion authorized by the ACA
-Prohibiting a state-created insurance exchange
-Registering ACA navigators with the state Department of Insurance

The constitutional principle of anti-commandeering – a recognition that the federal government cannot compel a state to use state resources to implement a federal law – was succinctly expressed by the United States Supreme Court in Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997): “The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program.”

The SC Senate will decide this week on whether to allow a vote on the anti-Obamacare bill, and I would appreciate you circulating this video clip in any manner you deem appropriate.

Tenth Amendment Center

The Tenth Amendment Center is a national think tank that works to preserve and protect the principles of strictly limited government through information, education, and activism. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of state and individual sovereignty issues, focusing primarily on the decentralization of federal government power as required by the Constitution. For more information visit the Tenth Amendment Center Blog.