IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 45 

Expressing the sense of Congress that President Barack Obama has violated 

section 3 of article II of the Constitution by refusing to enforce the 

employer mandate provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable 

Care Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2013 

Mr. GARRETT submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 

the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, the 

Judiciary, Natural Resources, House Administration, Rules, and Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress that President Barack 

Obama has violated section 3 of article II of the Constitution by refusing to enforce the employer mandate 

provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 

Act. 

Whereas section 1 of article I of the Constitution states that 

‘‘All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in 

a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of 

a Senate and House of Representatives’’; 


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•HCON 45 IH 

Whereas section 3 of article II of the Constitution states that 

the President ‘‘shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’’, which imposes a duty upon the President 

to enforce the law, regardless of difficulty of enforcement 

or displeasure with the statute; 

Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was 

signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 

23, 2010; 

Whereas such Act contains a provision commonly referred to 

as the ‘‘employer mandate’’, which requires businesses 

that employ 50 or more full-time employees to provide 

health insurance to its employees upon threat of financial 

penalty; 

Whereas section 1513(d) of such Act states that the employer 

mandate ‘‘shall apply to months beginning after December 31, 2013’’; 

Whereas the executive branch announced on July 2, 2013, 

that it would unilaterally delay the enforcement of the 

employer mandate until January 2015; 

Whereas the principle of separation of powers is a constitutional safeguard of liberty as asserted by James Madison 

in Federalist No. 47 in which he stated, ‘‘The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in 

the same hands . . . may justly be pronounced the very 

definition of tyranny’’; and 

Whereas the executive branch’s unilateral decision to delay 

the implementation of a law sets a dangerous precedent 

under which legislation that is enacted through the passage of that legislation by the democratically elected 

Members of Congress and the signing of that legislation 

into law by the President will no longer have the force 


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•HCON 45 IH 

of law and will instead be relegated to having the status 

of a mere recommendation, which the President may 

choose to ignore: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) President Barack Obama has violated sec4 tion 3 of article II of the Constitution by refusing 

5 to enforce the employer mandate provisions of the 

6 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; 

7 (2) the perpetuation of republican government 

8 depends upon the rule of law; 

9 (3) the executive branch, which has no constitu10 tional authority to write or rewrite law at whim, has 

11 invaded upon the exclusive legislative power of Con12 gress; 

13 (4) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 

14 Act has proven to be unworkable; and 

15 (5) such Act should be repealed by Congress 

16 immediately. 

Æ 


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