James Madison said the general terms such as “General Welfare” and “Common Defense” were identified in the list of authorized powers, such as “Weights and Measures”, “Postal Service and Roads”, and the power to raise armies and to provide a Navy.
If lawmakers are allowed to make laws according to their interpretation of the General Welfare clause, then the Constitution is meaningless. Most lawmakers pretend their proposed legislation is for the general welfare, or the common good, or the public safety.
“An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen was passed by the 5th Congress. It was signed by President John Adams 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.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Act_for_the_relief_of_sick_and_disabled_seamen