HEALTH INSURANCE: THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE

Now Republicans oppose the individual mandate as being unconstitutional, but formerly a number of bills were introduced by Republicans that espoused the individual mandate: http://healthcarereform.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004182

These bills and articles include those by Senator Don Nickels (R, Okla.) and 24 cosponsors, John H. Chaffee (R, RI) and 20 cosponsors, the conservative Heritage Foundation (Oct. 2nd, 1989), Heritage Foundation (Mar. 5th, 1989 ). So Republicans were, to paraphrase a former presidential candidate Kerry, for the individual mandate before they were against it.*

There also were some Democratic proposals for individual mandate: Senator Ron Wyden (D, Or) and 17 cosponsors, Senator Ron Wyden (D, Or) and 124 cosponsors.

*This sort of thing has happened before. Expecting to elect a Republican president in 2006, Republicans passed the line item veto bill which was signed by President Clinton on April 9, 1996 (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/line_item_veto.html). Much to the surprise of Republicans, President Clinton was reelected. President Clinton and Senator Bob Dole had agreed that the act would not be implemented until 2007 after the presidential election of 2006. In 2007, Republicans claimed the act was unconstitutional. President Clinton tested the constitutionality of the act, and the Supreme Court ruled it as unconstitutional by a 6 to 3 vote.