An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen
was passed by the
5th Congress. It was signed by President
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
on July 16, 1798. The Act authorized the deduction of twenty cents per month from the wages of seamen, for the sole purpose of funding medical care for sick and disabled seamen, as well as building additional hospitals for the treatment of seamen.
While some argue this is the first Federal
individual mandate
An individual mandate is a requirement by law for certain persons to purchase or otherwise obtain a good or service.
United States Militia act
The Militia Acts of 1792, based on the Constitution's militia clause (in addition to its affirmative ...
levied on individuals for health insurance,
[
] preceding the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...
("Obamacare"), passed in early 2010, by nearly 212 years; others would point to the fact that this law solely regulated employers engaged in
interstate and foreign commerce, and was enacted as a matter of
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
.
[
]
Legislative history
The bill was introduced into the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
by a committee appointed for the purpose on February 28, 1798, and read the first and second time that day. After some consideration, the bill was referred back to committee and on April 6, 1798, an amended bill was reported to the House of Representatives and read the first and second time that day. On April 9, 1798, the bill was amended, engrossed and read the third time and on April 12, 1798, the bill was passed and sent to the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for concurrence.
The bill was received in the Senate on April 12, 1798, and read the first time. The bill received its second reading the following day and was referred to committee. The bill was reported from committee with amendments on June 19, 1798. The bill was amended, read the third time and passed by the Senate on July 14, 1798, and sent back to the House of Representatives for concurrence in the amendments.
The bill was received in the House of Representatives on July 14, 1798, and the Senate amendments were approved the same day. On July 16, 1798, the bill was duly enrolled and transmitted to President John Adams, who signed it into law the same day.
Description and purpose of the legislation
Section one of the Act directed each master of a vessel of the United States arriving from a foreign port into any port of the United States to pay to the Collector at the arrival port twenty cents per month from each seaman on board the vessel, which sum he was authorized to withhold from the wages of said seamen.
Section two of the Act forbid Collectors from renewing the license of vessels in the coasting trade unless the master of said vessel complied with the provisions of the Act and provided a penalty of a one hundred dollar fine for a master's failure to comply.
Section three of the Act directed Collectors to deliver funds collected under the Act to the Secretary of the Treasury on a quarterly basis. It further authorized the President of the United States to use the funds for the treatment of sick and disabled seamen in existing hospitals and facilities.
Section four of the Act authorized and directed the President of the United States to use surplus funds collected under the Act to build additional hospitals at the ports of the United States.
Section five of the Act authorized the President to appoint directors for each port, to direct the spending of funds at each port and to account for the use of said funds. The directors were appointed solely by the President and served at his pleasure.
References
External links
Link to full text of the Act at the Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:An Act For The Relief Of Sick And Disabled Seamen
1798 in American law
United States federal admiralty and maritime legislation
1798 in American politics
5th United States Congress
Individual mandates