Is it Constitutional?

The founders saw first-hand how a powerful central government could abuse and control the people’s lives to a burdensome level. Consequently, the Constitutional Congress intended for the central government to hold very limited powers.

To ensure the federal government stays in its bounds, the founders added the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."

Thomas Jefferson wrote, "On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or intended against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn told Judge Andrew Napolitano, "Most of what we do is unconstitutional."

Congressman Phil Hare of Illinois defiantly announced, I don't worry about the Constitution...."

When asked whether the recently passed health care bill is constitutional, Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded by asking, "Are you serious?"

Clearly, our politicians don't care about the constitutionality of the bills they pass.

I suggest that the Enumerated Powers Act and the Read the Bills Act both be amended to include the requirement that every bill be subjected to a separate roll-call vote whereby each and every congressman (both houses), having studied both the Constitution and the bill in question, goes on record as certifying that he is satisfied that the entire bill complies with the spirit, intent and word of the Constitution. All bills that not certified as constitutional by at least two-thirds of each house must be null and void.