Affirming the constitutional right to travel freely and voluntarily within the United States, District of Columbia, Tribal lands, and the territories of the United States.

This resolution expresses the sense that every person has the right to travel freely within the United States and that no one should be held criminally or civilly liable for seeking, providing, or assisting with out-of-state health care services that are legal in the jurisdiction in which they are delivered.

It also expresses the sense that those whose rights are violated may seek relief through Section 1983 lawsuits (Section 1983 is a federal statute that allows individuals to sue state or local government actors for violations of constitutional rights).

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1212 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1212

  Affirming the constitutional right to travel freely and voluntarily 
 within the United States, District of Columbia, Tribal lands, and the 
                   territories of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2022

 Mr. Raskin submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Affirming the constitutional right to travel freely and voluntarily 
 within the United States, District of Columbia, Tribal lands, and the 
                   territories of the United States.

Whereas the right to travel freely and voluntarily among the several States is 
        one of the chief privileges and immunities guaranteed to all citizens of 
        the United States by the 14th Amendment and one of the fundamental 
        rights guaranteed to all persons under the 14th Amendment's Equal 
        Protection Clause;
Whereas section 5 of the 14th Amendment empowers Congress to enforce, by 
        appropriate legislation, its provisions;
Whereas the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that ``a citizen of one State who 
        travels in other States, intending to return home at the end of his 
        journey, is entitled to enjoy the `Privileges and Immunities of Citizens 
        in the several States' that he visits'' (Saenz v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489, 501 
        (1999) (citing Corfield v. Coryell, 6 F. Cas. 546 (No. 3,230) 
        (C.C.E.D.Pa.1823); Edwards v. California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941); United 
        States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745 (1966))); and
Whereas the Supreme Court long ago decided that one of the privileges or 
        immunities that the Constitution guarantees is the ``fundamental'' right 
        to travel from one State to another to seek and obtain services lawful 
        in the latter State, including medical services, on terms of substantial 
        equality with the residents of that State (Toomer v. Witsell, 334 U.S. 
        385, 396 (1948); Hicklin v. Orbeck, 437 U.S. 518, 525 (1978); Doe v. 
        Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 200 (1973) (citing Ward v. Maryland, 79 U.S. 418 
        (1870)); Chalker v. Birmingham & N.W.R. Co., 249 U.S. 522, 527 (1919); 
        Shaffer v. Carter, 252 U.S. 37, 52, 53 (1920)): Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) every person has the right to travel freely within the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, Tribal lands, and the 
        territories of the United States as a fundamental privilege and 
        immunity of citizenship in the United States;
            (2) no person should be held criminally liable or civilly 
        liable in any way by any State or by the United States 
        Government for voluntarily traveling within the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, Tribal lands, and the territories of 
        the United States for the purposes of seeking or obtaining 
        health care services in a destination jurisdiction, or for 
        providing or facilitating such travel, or providing health care 
        services in any jurisdiction to out-of-state patients, where 
        the health care services so obtained are lawful in the 
        jurisdiction where they are delivered; and
            (3) any person whose constitutional right to travel is 
        violated under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, 
        custom, or usage, of any State or territory or the District of 
        Columbia, may seek redress under section 1979 of the Revised 
        Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983).
                                 <all>