U.S Rep. Justin Amash

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Three congressmen, including one who represents the Grand Rapids area, voted against a bill that would penalize amateur athletic organizations who do not report suspected abuse in Congress this week.

The "Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act," or Senate Bill 534, comes in the wake of the sentencing of former Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar on seven counts of criminal sexual abuse.

U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, read portions of the victim impact statements from Nassar's seven-day sentencing hearing in Ingham County Circuit Court. Poe spoke in support of the bill before it was passed by a 406-3 vote Monday, Jan. 29.

"Our amateur gymnasts were failed," Poe said. "They were failed by the very people who are supposed to protect them and do no harm, as doctors are supposed to do."

He said the bill would prevent such abuse from happening in the future.

Though many members of Michigan's congressional delegation voiced their support for the bill, one lawmaker from the Grand Rapids area opposed it.

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, explained his "no" vote in a 772-word Facebook post published Monday evening just after the vote was taken.

I voted no on the motion to suspend the rules and pass #S534, which federalizes criminal law with respect to certain... Posted by Justin Amash on Monday, January 29, 2018

In it, Amash lists a series of problems he has with the bill, starting an argument against any federal criminal laws not authorized by the Constitution.

"It explicitly authorizes Congress to criminalize only a few activities, which relate to matters that are clearly federal in nature (counterfeiting, crimes on the high seas, treason). All other criminal activities are punishable at the state level," he wrote.

Making it a federal crime for those working with amateur athletes to fail to report instances of suspected child abuse is an overreach into an area where "the federal government has no general jurisdiction," Amash wrote in the post.

Joining Amash in voting against the bill were U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and Mark Sanford, R-South Carolina. All three congressmen are members of the House Liberty Caucus, which focuses on Constitutional issues and those of individual liberty and economic freedom.

All other members of Michigan's House delegation, both Republicans and Democrats, voted in favor of the bill.

"We all have a responsibility to protect our young people from despicable, predatory behavior, and this important legislation represents a first step in addressing the deep-rooted and systemic problems that came to light in the Dr. Larry Nassar case," U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, said in a statement. "This legislation sets up an independent body to investigate allegations of misconduct throughout Team USA and set up training for athletes, coaches and parents."

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, recently joined Dingell, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, and other members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in calling for congressional hearings into the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University's handling of the Nassar case.

"The crimes committed by Dr. Larry Nassar are heartbreaking and intolerable," Upton said in a statement. "We must ensure something like this can never happen again. Unfortunately, under current law, amateur athletic governing bodies are not required to promptly report allegations of sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities. This is unacceptable. This bill will ensure when reports of abuse are made, they are investigated fully."

It's not unusual for Amash to be one of only a few "no" votes on an issue, often voting alongside Democrats against Republican-sponsored bills and against Democratic-sponsored legislation with support on both sides of the aisle.

In addition to opposing the form of the proposed federal law, Amash also takes issue with its function, calling it legislation of "thought crime" that "invites due process problems."

"No one should face the risk of prison time for failing to report unsubstantiated rumors about a potentially innocent person," he wrote.

In the Facebook post, Amash also argues that creating federal law that could overlap state laws undermines due process and might discourage state governments from prosecuting crimes for budgetary reasons. Adding such federal criminal laws to the books, he wrote, would create an undue burden on both federal law enforcement and federal courts, which should be reserved for issues that are "national in scope and not properly handled in state courts."

"The Framers wrote the Constitution to protect against the dangers posed by this bill," Amash wrote.

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, also issued a statement in support of the bill, pointing to the 2016 Indianapolis Star report that precipitated investigations into Nassar, Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics.

"Too many adults failed the victims at Michigan State and USA Gymnastics," Moolenaar said. "Young women turned to administrators for help and they were let down. It is simply unacceptable that suspected cases of abuse were not reported to law enforcement. Now, this failure will not only be unacceptable, it will also be a crime."

The bill passed by a vote of 406-3 in the U.S. House of Representatives Monday. The House made changes to the bill, and it will return to the U.S. Senate for approval before it could be signed into law by President Donald Trump.