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Policy Forum

ObamaCare: Historic, but Is It Constitutional?

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Auditorium/Wintergarden
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Featuring
Featuring Sen. Orrin Hatch (R‑UT); Roger Pilon, Vice President for Legal Affairs, Cato Institute. Moderated by David Boaz, Executive Vice President of the Cato Institute.

On March 23, President Barack Obama signed one of the most sweeping pieces of social legislation in American history. The new health care law would require nearly all Americans to purchase health insurance or face fines and possible jail time. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce, but does that mean that Congress can compel Americans to engage in specific commercial transactions? Several states and other plaintiffs have filed suit against this “individual mandate.” How will those cases fare?