[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 5, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H42]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. CANTOR:
H.R. 2.
Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant
to the following:
For over 200 years, the Congress, the Executive, and the
Judiciary have acted according to the principle of coordinate
branch construction based on their respective obligations to
ensure that all their actions are constitutional. This is the
clear meaning of the Vesting Clauses of Articles I, II, and
III along with the Supremacy Clause of Article VI, as well as
of the Oath of Office that each constitutional officer of the
Federal government must take pursuant to Article VI. James
Madison made this clear in 1834 stating, ``As the
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial departments of the
United States are co-ordinate, and each equally bound to
support the Constitution, it follows that each must in the
exercise of its functions be guided by the text of the
Constitution according to its own interpretation of it.''
The ``Repealing the Job Killing Health Care Law Act''
repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and
title I and subtitle B of title II of the Health Care and
Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, which
included several specific provisions that extend beyond the
enumerated powers granted to Congress by the Constitution,
including, in particular, the Commerce, Taxing, and the
Spending Clauses of Article I, Section 8, as well as the
Necessary and Proper Clauses contained therein, and that
otherwise improperly extend authority to Federal agencies in
a manner inconsistent with the Vesting Clause of Article I,
Section 1.
The general repeal of this legislation is consistent with
the powers that are reserved to the States and to the people
as expressed in Amendment X to the United States
Constitution.