Individual mandate
Encyclopedia
An individual mandate is a requirement by a government that certain individual citizens purchase or otherwise obtain a good or service.
In the United States
, the United States Congress
has enacted two individual mandates, the first was never federally enforced, while the second is not scheduled to take effect until 2014. The Militia Acts of 1792, based on the Constitution's militia clause (in addition to its affirmative authorization to raise an army and a navy), would have required every "free able-bodied white male citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45, with a few occupational exceptions, to "provide himself" a weapon and ammunition; however, its constitutionality was never litigated. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
signed in 2010 imposes a health insurance mandate
to take effect in 2014, based on the Congressional power to regulate interstate commerce, but the legislation is controversial: in 2010, a majority of states joined litigation in federal court arguing that the power to "regulate" commerce does not include an affirmative power to compel commerce by penalizing inaction; as of 2011, the several court rulings on the matter have disagreed about whether the mandate is constitutional. In 1994, the Congressional Budget Office
issued a report describing an individual mandate as "an unprecedented form of federal action... The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States."
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
has enacted two individual mandates, the first was never federally enforced, while the second is not scheduled to take effect until 2014. The Militia Acts of 1792, based on the Constitution's militia clause (in addition to its affirmative authorization to raise an army and a navy), would have required every "free able-bodied white male citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45, with a few occupational exceptions, to "provide himself" a weapon and ammunition; however, its constitutionality was never litigated. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
signed in 2010 imposes a health insurance mandate
Health insurance mandate
A health insurance mandate is either an employer or individual mandate to obtain private health insurance, instead of a National Health Service or National Health Insurance.-United States:...
to take effect in 2014, based on the Congressional power to regulate interstate commerce, but the legislation is controversial: in 2010, a majority of states joined litigation in federal court arguing that the power to "regulate" commerce does not include an affirmative power to compel commerce by penalizing inaction; as of 2011, the several court rulings on the matter have disagreed about whether the mandate is constitutional. In 1994, the Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
issued a report describing an individual mandate as "an unprecedented form of federal action... The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States."