Dozens of Montana Republican lawmakers have written a letter to Democratic Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock urging him to join 14 other states in suing the federal government, alleging that health care reform signed into law is unconstitutional. It states, in part:
It is our conviction that this legislation is in conflict with the 10th amendment to the United States Constitution which states that “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.”
Bullock’s spokesman Kevin O’Brien sent out this statement following similar requests:
“We have looked at the lawsuit and agree with the vast majority of legal scholars – it’s without merit. While people can have legitimate differences about policy, we shouldn’t be spending taxpayer money on court challenges that are more about politics than the law.”
In my opinion, the chances of Bullock heeding the GOP’s advice: zero.
Here’s the letter in its entirety:
Attorney General Bullock;
The signers of this letter have grave concern regarding the constitutionality of Public Law 111-148 (H.R. 3590) passed by the United States Congress on March 21, 2010 and subsequently signed by the President to become law.
We contend that the federal government does not have the power to mandate the citizens of Montana to purchase a federally approved health care insurance product and penalize them if they choose not to do so. Neither Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce under Article I, Section 8 nor the exercise of such power in conjunction with any other constitutionally enumerated power permit the federal government to impose that kind of mandate on the citizens of Montana. It is our conviction that this legislation is in conflict with the 10th amendment to the United States Constitution which states that “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.” This new law does not allow the state of Montana the choice of being involved but instead appears to commandeer the state of Montana and its employees as agents of the federal government’s regulatory scheme at Montana’s own cost.
While we acknowledge the need for health care reform in the state of Montana to provide affordable health insurance options to the people of our state, we do not concur with laws that are in violation of our founding principles and particularly our federal Constitution. We are a society founded on the rule of law. We do not believe the end justifies the means. We contend that the passage of law of dubious constitutionality despite the opposition of a majority of Montanans and the American people disregards the democratic traditions and constitutional principles on which our country was founded and is neither prudent nor wise.
Therefore we, the undersigned, urge you to join with the 14 other states contending in court that the US Constitution does not empower the federal government to mandate the purchase of an insurance product by the citizens of Montana against their will or require the state to participate and implement this policy if it chooses not to do so. If you choose not to pursue our request we ask for your explanation for not joining with other states to challenge the constitutionality of the federal health care law’s mandates on our state and people.
Respectfully,
Sen. Robert Story
President of the Montana SenateRep. Scott Sales,
Minority Leader of the Montana House of RepresentativesThe following Senators and Representatives have also added their names as co-signers to this letter:
Senators: Sen. Jeff Essmann, Sen. Terry Murphy, Sen. Roy Brown, Sen. Taylor Brown, Sen. Aubyn Curtiss, Sen. Ryan Zinke, Sen. Jerry Black, Sen. Debby Barrett, Sen. Jim Peterson,
Sen. Daniel W. McGee, Sen. Jim Shockley, Sen. Rick Laible, Sen. Dave Lewis, Sen. Don Steinbeisser, Sen. Gary Perry, Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, Sen. Joe Balyeat, Sen. John Esp, Sen. Keith Bales, Sen. Greg Hinkle, Sen. Verdel Jackson, Sen. Kelly Gephardt, Sen. Barkus, Sen. Brendon,Representatives: Rep. Tom McGillvray, Rep. Cary Smith, Rep. Ken Peterson, Rep. Mike Miller, Rep. Ray Hawk, Rep. Lee Randall, Rep. Pat Ingraham, Rep. Duane Ankney, Rep. Gordon Hendrick, Rep. Gary MacLaren, Rep. Janna Taylor, Rep. Scott Reichner, Rep. Bob Wagner, Rep. Dave Howard, Rep. Keith Regier, Rep. Scott Mendenhall, Rep. Bob Lake, Rep. Ted Washburn, Rep. Penny Morgan, Rep. Jeff Welborn, Rep. Bill Beck, Rep. Jerry Bennett, Rep. Walter McNutt, Rep. Jessie O’Hara, Rep. Dee Brown, Rep. Krayton Kerns, Rep. Mike Milburn, Rep. Dennis Himmelberger, Rep. Dave Kaston, Rep. Harry Klock, Rep. Don Roberts, Rep. Llew Jones, Rep. Chas Vincent, Rep. Michael More, Rep. Wendy Warburton, Rep. Brian Hoven, Rep. Tom Berry, Rep. Ed Butcher, Rep. Gordy Vance, Rep. Jon Sonju, Rep. Ron Stoker, Rep. Wayne Stahl, Rep. Joel Boniek, Rep. Roy Hollandsworth, Rep. Bill Nooney, Rep. Elsie Arntzen. Rep. Russell Bean, Rep. Mark Blasdel.