Liberty, the Constitution, and Health Care

The passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 by Congress has raised a number of unique constitutional questions. Key in the discussion is the question of whether the legislation exceeds Congress' constitutional powers and thereby impinges on individual liberties. There are 2 purposes of our proposed project: 1) to inform young people about how the structure of our Constitution protects liberty, and 2) to generate media coverage of the discussions to inform the public and opinion makers about the constitutional questions the bill raises. We intend to coordinate a media campaign with a series of 20 interactive debates on university campuses around the country, focusing on cities where we can draw the most coverage. Outputs: 1) 20 debates on campuses nationwide 2) Approximately 3 million media impressions 3) Polling data on the opinions of young people regarding these issues 4) 5 podcasts of events Outcomes: 1) Deeper understanding of the connection between constitutional limits on government power and individual liberty and individual freedom 2) Greater awareness among lawyers, law students, the university community, opinion leaders, and the general public of the constitutional issues involved in the Supreme Court case surrounding the Affordable Care Act of 2010 3) Scholars will publish law review and other articles on the relevant case. 5 Scholarly citations and 15 op-eds or news articles/stories will indicate success. 4) Students will use transcripts of the debates as source material for Notes and other scholarship Enduring Impact: 1) Inclusion of the arguments outlined in standard curricular presentations of the case 2) Citations of scholarship produced by debate participants 3) Accurate representation of the case in the media and amongst opinion leaders in Washington and around the country