Federal Legislative Powers

Question 1

What is Federalism?

Answer 1

The relationship between the federal government and the states, and the relationship among the states.

Question 2

What was a major reason for the failure of the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 2

It did not give the federal government enough power, specifically no power to tax or regulate interstate commerce.

Question 3

What is one argument for Centralization?

Answer 3

It is necessary to prevent individual states from imposing externalities on other states.

Question 4

Who argued that the greatest threat to individual liberty comes from the tyranny of a majority faction?

Answer 4

James Madison in the Federalist Papers.

Question 5

What does Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution enumerate?

Answer 5

The powers of Congress: lay and collect taxes, pay debts, provide ofr the common defense and general welfare, borrow money, regulate commerce, naturalization, coin money, establish post offices, etc.

Question 6

What is the Necessary and Proper Clause?

Answer 6

It grants Congress the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.

Question 7

What was the significance of McCulloch v Maryland?

Answer 7

It established that Congress has implied powers to legislate on matters necessary to accomplish enumerated powers.

Question 8

What was the holding of McCulloch v Maryland regarding state taxation of a federally created bank?

Answer 8

No, a state may not tax a federally created bank as federal laws are supreme to state laws;

and the necessary and proper clause gives congress the implied power to legislate on things that are a means to an end in terms of accomplishing an enumberated power

Question 9

What N&P test do you use after McCulloch?

Answer 9

whether legislation is a means to an enumerated end. VERY broad/generous to federal government.

Question 10

What did US v Comstock address?

Answer 10

The federal government’s power to detain a mentally ill/sexually dangerous federal prisoner beyond their sentence.

Question 11

What are the five reasons for Congress’s N/P power was authorized in US v Comstock?

Answer 11

1.”N&P grants broad authorization to grant federal legislation to carry into execution enumerated powers.”
2. “Congress has a history of authorizing statutes concerning civil commitment.”,
3.”It was reasonable for Congress to provide for civil commitment of sexually dangerous inmates.”,
4. “The statute properly accounts for state interests and does not violate the 10th amendment.”,
5.”The links between the statute and an enumerated Article I power are not too attenuated.”]

Question 12

What does the Commerce Clause allow Congress to regulate?

Answer 12

“Interstate Commerce”, “Channels of Commerce”, “Instrumentalities of Commerce”, “Economic intrastate activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce”

Question 13

What was the holding in Gibbons v Ogden regarding the word ‘commerce’?

Answer 13

It includes traffic, intercourse, and navigation, thus giving Congress power to regulate the Hudson River.

Question 14

What did the Supreme Court hold in US v EC Knight Co. regarding the Commerce Clause?

Answer 14

The Commerce Clause does not reach manufacturing. NOT GOOD LAW

Question 15

What was the significance of the Shreveport Rate Case?

Answer 15

It established that the Commerce Clause power reaches discriminatory intrastate railroad rates affecting interstate commerce. “Instrumentalities of Commerce”

Question 16

What was the ruling in Champion v Ames regarding the Commerce Clause?

Answer 16

The power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce is plenary and subject to no limitations except those listed in the Constitution. Congress alone can regulate all aspects of interstate commerce and can do so in whatever manner it deems appropriate. Congress’s plenary power includes the power to prohibit items (such as lottery tickets) that are deemed to be harmful to the welfare of the people of the United States (Federal Lottery Act criminalized transportation of lotto tix).

Question 17

What did NLRB v Jones & Laughlin hold regarding labor relations?

Answer 17

Acts that directly burden interstate commerce are subject to congressional power. (NLRB created fair labor practice standards, including right to unionize).

Question 18

What was the ruling in US v Darby regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act?

Answer 18

Congress has the power to regulate intrastate activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. OVERRULES HAMMER V. DAGENHART. FLSA prohibits shipping goods under conditions that failed FLSA; manufacturing has a substantialeffect in interstate commerce.

Question 19

Wickard v. Filburn

Answer 19

Commerce clause power reaches the local/instrastate activities, that in aggregate exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce.

farmer grew their own wheat for personal use, thus affecting the supply and demand of wheat in the open market.

Question 20

What is Rational Basis Review in the context of the Commerce Clause?

Answer 20

The Court asks whether Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the regulated conduct has a substantial effect on interstate commerce.

Question 21

What does the Civil Rights Act prohibit?

Answer 21

Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation.

Question 22

What was the holding in Heart of Atlanta Motel v US regarding local discriminatory practices?

Answer 22

The Commerce Clause power reaches local discriminatory practices that in aggregate have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Under the Commerce Clause, Congress has the power to remove obstructions and restraints to interstate commerce, and evidence shows that racial discrimination has a disruptive effect on commercial intercourse. passage of the Civil Rights Act was a fair use of Congress’s plenary power to regulate interstate commerce.

Question 23

What was the ruling in Katzenbach v McClung regarding Ollie’s BBQ?

Answer 23

If a restaurant substantially relies on interstate commerce, it is subject to federal regulation via the Commerce Clause. restaurant did not allow blacks to eat indoors, only takeout. a lot of their food came from the result of interstate commerce. Congress may regulate the discriminatory policies if those policies have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. testimony said that restaurants in areas known for discriminating against African Americans sell fewer interstate goods because of the discrimination, that interstate travel is obstructed directly by it, that business in general suffers, and that many new businesses avoid the location as a result. RATIONAL BASIS REVIEW

Question 24

What was the holding in US v Lopez regarding the Gun-Free School Zones Act?

Answer 24

The Act is unconstitutional because possessing a gun in a school zone does not involve economic activity.

Question 25

What was the ruling in US v Morrison regarding the Violence Against Women Act?

Answer 25

The Commerce Clause power does not reach because gender-based violence is not an economic activity.

Question 26

What was the ruling in NFIB v Sebelius regarding the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate?

Answer 26

Congress's Commerce Clause power does not enable Congress to mandate individuals to purchase insurance. Congress can REGULATE, not CREATE.

Question 27

What was the primary issue in NFIB v Sebelius?

Answer 27

The constitutionality of the individual mandate requiring most of the US population to purchase private insurance ## Footnote The individual mandate was enforced by a penalty.

Question 28

What did the Supreme Court hold regarding Congress's Commerce Clause power in NFIB v Sebelius?

Answer 28

Congress’s Commerce Clause power does not enable Congress to create commerce by compelling individuals to purchase an unwanted product.

Question 29

What was the holding in Gonzales v Raich regarding home-grown marijuana?

Answer 29

Production of marijuana for home consumption has a substantial effect on supply and demand in the national market for that commodity. Similar to Wickard.Congress has the power to regulate purely local activities that are part of an economic class of activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. In this case, Raich’s activity of growing marijuana for home use can be seen rationally as having a substantial effect on interstate commerce because there is an established, albeit illegal, interstate market for marijuana. RATIONAL BASIS REVIEW

Question 30

What are the limitations on Congress's taxing power according to Article I, Section 8?

Answer 30

Must be uniform across the US, direct taxes must be proportionate to state populations, cannot impose duties on exports, and cannot give preference to any port. CANNOT BE PENALTIES

Question 31

What does the taxing power do?

Answer 31

Raises revenue for the US government and raises the cost of certain behaviors to create disincentives and incentives.

Question 32

What was the outcome in the Child Labor Tax Case?

Answer 32

The tax was deemed a penalty rather than a tax because it was characterized by heavy penalties, enforced by the Department of Labor, and involved scienter. the Child Labor Tax Law represents an effort by Congress to regulate a subject area clearly reserved to the states by the Constitution. Thus, Congress overstepped its regulatory bounds, and the Child Labor Tax Law is unconstitutional.

Question 33

What did the Supreme Court rule in US v Kahriger regarding gambling taxes?

Answer 33

As long as it generates revenue for the government, it is considered a tax, regardless of its punitive nature. , a tax that produces revenue is not invalidated simply because its purpose is regulatory. Therefore, although this tax has a regulatory effect, it is not invalid for that reason.

Question 34

What was the ruling regarding the 'shared responsibility payment' in NFIB v Sebelius?

Answer 34

It is a viable tax, not a penalty, and the government can tax inactivity.

Question 35

What was the significant ruling regarding Congress's spending power in US v Butler?

Answer 35

Congress can authorize expenditure of public money for public purposes without being limited by enumerated powers. Article I, § 8 of the Constitution vests in Congress the power to levy and collect taxes for the general welfare. Congress’s power to tax and spend is a separate power not confined by Congress’s other enumerated powers. However, this power is not without limits. Any congressional power to tax and spend is limited by Tenth Amendment state sovereignty concerns. The AAA violates state sovereignty by seeking to invade states’ rights to regulate and control their own agricultural production. Because Congress has no power to regulate and control agricultural production, it follows that Congress may not indirectly accomplish that end through its taxing and spending powers.

Question 36

What did the Supreme Court hold in South Dakota v Dole regarding federal funding conditions?

Answer 36

Congress may withhold federal funds from states when the exercise of spending power is in pursuit of the general welfare. what constitutes general welfare is up to Congress to decide. Must be a clear unambiguous statement from Congress as to what it's doing, and it must be related to the federal interest. cannot violate any part of the constitution, and cannot offer financial inducements that amount to coercion.

Question 37

What was the ruling in NFIB v Sebelius regarding Medicaid expansion?

Answer 37

Medicaid expansion was deemed coercive because states would lose all federal Medicaid funding if they opted out.

Question 38

What powers does Article I, Section 8 grant Congress regarding war?

Answer 38

The power to declare war, raise and support armies, and provide and maintain a navy.

Question 39

What did the holding in Woods v Cloyd W Miller establish about war power?

Answer 39

War power does not terminate with the end of hostilities, allowing Congress to address "DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE" negative consequences of war.

Question 40

What are treaties, and who negotiates them?

Answer 40

Treaties are agreements between countries negotiated by the President and must be approved by a majority of the Senate.

Question 41

What was the outcome of Missouri v Holland regarding treaties and state power?

Answer 41

The treaty power expands national power, allowing Congress to legislate on matters covered by treaties, even if they do not have direct constitutional authority. Treaty btwn US and GB about migratory birds allowed Congress to pass laws enforcing the treaty. A treaty that infringes the rights reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution may nevertheless be considered valid if it is made under the authority of the United States and is thus the supreme law of the land (Art. 6)

Question 42

What can Congress NOT regulate under the commerce clause?

Answer 42

activities that are not economic

Question 43

What gives Congress the power to tax?

Answer 43

Article I, Section 8

Question 44

What are the limitations on Taxing Power?

Answer 44

1. must be uniform across the US 2. Any "direct tax" other than income tax must be laid in proportion to the population of each state 3. cannot impose duties on: exports, shipment from one state to another, and cannot give preference to any port over another

Question 45

Three Factors in Child Labor Tax Case considered as why its a penalty and not a tax

Answer 45

1. Heavy Penalty 2. Enforced by DOL, not IRS 3. Scienter was involved - tax was used as a punitive measure for people knowingly using child labor

Question 46

Are Treaties Self Executing?

Answer 46

Sometimes

Question 47

Missouri v. Holland

Answer 47

treaty power expands national power, if the treaty says you have the legislative power to legislate, then legislation will be made. Treaty about migratory bird enabled congress to pass legislation that protected birds. doesnt violate 10th amendment, because the birds are interstate, which US gov't has power over

Question 48

What three general categories can congress regulate under the commerce clause?

Answer 48

the channels of interstate commerce; the instrumentalities of, or persons or things in, interstate commerce; and activities that substantially affect or substantially relate to interstate commerce.