Congressional Power Flashcards
Necessary & Proper Clause LNG
Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3 = The Congress shall have Power to…make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution…
Elaboration of Nec & Prop Clause
○ Gives Congress the power to make all laws necessary & proper for executing its powers
○ Is an extension of other powers vested in the fed gov
○ Is not an independent basis of power to regulate
➢ Cannot be used alone as a source of power so must be linked to another express (enumerated) power
Scope of Review of Congressional Legislation Test
Also called Rational Basis Test
○ (1) legitimate federal ends within the scope of Constitution;
○ (2) by appropriate means clearly adapted to that end;
○ (3) not expressly prohibited; and
○ (4) in the spirit of the Constitution
Commerce Clause LNG
Article 1, Section 8 = Congress can regulate commerce with:
○ Foreign nations
○ Indian tribes
○ Among the several states (dual federalism)
Commerce Clause RULE
ELEMENT 1
- Channels of interstate commerce or
● Ex: highways, railroad tracks, waterways, airspace, as well as telecommunications, etc., even though a particular activity is purely intrastate
Commerce Clause RULE
ELEMENT 2
- Instrumentalities of interstate commerce,
● persons or thing traveling interstate moving in commerce
Commerce Clause RULE
ELEMENT 3
- OR Activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce:
● Congress my regulate even noneconomic local activity if that regulation is a necessary party of a more general regulation of interstate commerce
Elaboration of CC RULE
in evaluating the law and its application, the only questions are:
1) whether congress had a rational basis for acting
2) if it had such a basis, whether the means it selected to address the issue is reasonable and appropriate
say…here the regulation falls under prong ___ bc of the regulation of ___ is a regulation of ___.
On the other hand, one may argue that the chain of effect is far too attenuated.
However _____ (reaffirm your argument for congress regulation).
Taxing & Spending Power LNG
Article I, §8 clause 1 = states that “Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”
Taxing & Spending power RULE
○ Tax will be upheld as valid if it either actually raises revenue for the general welfare or it was intended to raise revenue
§ If a tax raises revenue & has the secondary effect of imposing a penalty, it will still be upheld as valid:
□ Just cannot have the primary purpose of being a penalty
○ The court does not consider whether the tax is effective; just considers whether it is constitutionally authorized
Spending Power RULE
Congress may generally use its conditional spending power to achieve indirectly a result that would be
beyond its enumerated powers to regulate directly.
Spending Power Interpretations for RULE
A freestanding power to enact regulations for the general welfare.
- Power to spend for the general welfare.
- Power to spend for the purpose of pursuing the enumerated powers (general welfare is limited
by the enumerated powers).
RULE Conditions on Grants to State Govs:
1) Condition must be unambiguous so that recipients can knowingly accept or reject them
2) Must be related to the particular fed program
Any portion of funding cannot be used for diff purpose and be funneled back to the particular program.
3) Must comply with the Constitution
4) AND must not amount to coercion
Conditions on Grants to State Govs:
Continued….
The federal government may forbid states from acting, because in doing so it is not commanding the state to do something.
Congress may regulate individuals, but it may not regulate the state.
