What can Congress do? Congressional Power

Question 1

what is the main source of Congressional Power?

Answer 1

Article I, § 8 – enumerated powers including commerce, necessary & proper, and taxing & spending powers

Question 2

What clauses give Congress power under the Reconstruction Amendments?

Answer 2

13A §2 (abolishing slavery) , 14A §5 (equal protection/ due process), 15A §2 (voting rights protection) – enforcement powers.

Question 3

Where does Congress get power over the judiciary and territories?

Answer 3

Art. III §1–2, cl. 2 (courts) & Art. IV §1, §3 (states/territories).

Question 4

What does the 16th Amendment allow Congress to do?

Answer 4

Tax incomes, from any source derived.

Question 5

What does the Necessary & Proper clause Authorize?

Answer 5

Laws necessary and proper for carrying out Congress’ enumerated powers and other constitutional powers

Question 6

What principle about federal law did McCulloch v. Maryland Establish?

Answer 6

Congress can use any appropriate means to carry out its powers, not limited to those expressly listed.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) – Congress can create a national bank.

Question 7

Where in the Constitution is the necessary and proper clause found?

Answer 7

Art. 1 sec. 8, cl. 18

Question 8

What is the McCulloch v. Maryland N&P Clause test?

Answer 8

Means must be plainly adapted to a legitimate constitutional end and not prohibited

Question 9

What’s the modern test for N&P clause?

Answer 9

A federal act is valid if it bears a REASONABLE RELATIONSHIP to an enumerated power.

Question 10

Why was the N&P Clause insufficient in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012)?

Answer 10

Because the individual health insurance mandate exceeded both N&P and commerce powers.

Question 11

Why was the N&P Clause sufficient in U.S. v. Comstock?

Answer 11

broad reading- Congress CAN adopt civil commitment program for sex offenders already and federal custody (related to existing statute)

Question 12

what is Congress’ authority under the Commerce Clause and where is it found?

Answer 12

(Art. 1, sec. 8, cl. 3) to regulate commerce with 1) foreign nations,2) between the states, and 3) Indian Tribes

Question 13

what rule about interstate Commerce came from Gibbons v. Ogden?

Answer 13

Sea navigation across state borders is within Congress’ authority to regulate so federal law prevails.

Question 14

What are the three categories of Commerce Clause regulations under lopez?

Answer 14

1.Channels of interstate commerce

2.Instrumentalities/persons/goods moving interstate commerce

3.Activities that substantially affect interstate commerce

Question 15

What test do you use for economic activities under the Commerce Clause?

Answer 15

Modern Hodel Test: whether Congress has a rational basis that regulated activity affects interstate commerce + a rational connection between means chosen and the goal asserted.

Question 16

What analysis applies to non-economic activities?

Answer 16

Lopez factors Balancing test 4:
1) does the state REQUIRE THE GOV. TO PROVE that the persons conduct in some way actually affected interstate commerce?
2) Did Congress MAKE FACTUAL FINDINGS w. respect to how the regulated activity actually affects interstate commerce when passing the statute?
3) How does Congress or the DOJ (department of justice)/SG (solicitor general) argue that there is a CAUSAL LINK between the regulated activity and interstate commerce? VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR
4)Is the activity Congress regulating ONE OF TRADITIONAL STATE CONCERN? (family law, gen. criminal law, education, etc.)

Question 17

When is a tax constitutional under Congress’ taxing power?

Answer 17

if it raises revenue and regulates appropriately

Question 18

What doctrine was established in Wickard v. Filburn?

Answer 18

Cumulative Effects Doctrine — even local activity can be regulated if its aggregate effect impacts interstate commerce.

Question 19

How did Heart of Atlanta Motel expand Commerce Power?

Answer 19

Discrimination in hotels affects interstate travel — justified under Commerce Clause.

Question 20

What did Katzenbach v. McClung (Ollie’s BBQ case) decide?

Answer 20

Congress can regulate restaurants using goods that traveled interstate.

Question 21

Why did the Court strike down the Gun-Free School Zones Act in Lopez?

Answer 21

No sufficient link between guns in school zones and interstate commerce.

Question 22

Why was the Violence Against Women Act civil remedy struck down in U.S. v. Morrison?

Answer 22

It regulated non-economic, traditional state activity — insufficient link to commerce.

Question 23

Why was the federal regulation of homegrown marijuana upheld in Gonzales v. Raich?

Answer 23

It was part of a comprehensive economic regulatory scheme (Controlled Substances Act).

Question 24

How did NFIB v. Sebelius limit the Commerce Power?

Answer 24

Congress cannot use the Commerce Clause to create commerce (forcing purchase of insurance).

Question 25

Where is the Taxing and Spending Power found in the Constitution?

Answer 25

Art. 1, sec. 8, cl. 1

Question 26

When is a law withing the taxing and spending powers? (or necessary and proper to those powers)

Answer 26

If it is reasonably related to a measure that raises revenue or spends money in furtherance of the common defense or general welfare & does not infringe on state sovereignty

Question 27

How did NFIB v. Sebelius treat the Affordable Care Act ACA’s "individual mandate"?

Answer 27

Upheld it as a valid tax, not an unconstitutional penalty. because the punishment was not so severe as to be coercive.

Question 28

Have the courts given up on determining if a tax was designed for punishment or to actually raise revenue?

Answer 28

Yes, U.S. v. Kahriger, Sozinsky v. U.S.

Question 29

What are the South Dakota v. Dole (1987) limits on spending power?

Answer 29

1) Pursuit of general welfare 2) Clear conditions 3) Relation to federal interest 4) No other constitutional bar 5) Not coercive - here, the court found taking 100% of highway funds unless you conformed was unfairly coercive

Question 30

Can Congress regulate war-related issues post-conflict?

Answer 30

Yes – Woods v. Cloyd W. Miller Co. (1948) allowed post-war rent control.

Question 31

Can valid treaties override state law?

Answer 31

Yes – Missouri v. Holland (1920) upheld a treaty regulating migratory birds over state law.

Question 32

What does the Commerce Clause authorize Congress to regulate?

Answer 32

Commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with Indian tribes (Art. I, §8, cl.3).

Question 33

What is the Cumulative Effects Doctrine?

Answer 33

Congress can regulate even intrastate activities if their aggregate impact substantially affects interstate commerce (Wickard v. Filburn).

Question 34

What five factors determine whether an activity substantially affects commerce?

Answer 34

1.Economic nature 2.Jurisdictional element 3.Congressional findings 4.Directness of causal link 5.Area of traditional state concern

Question 35

Can Congress use the Commerce Power to override state sovereign immunity?

Answer 35

No (Seminole Tribe v. Florida; Alden v. Maine)

Question 36

What does Congress’s taxing and spending power allow?

Answer 36

Raise revenue and spend for the general welfare (Art. I, §8).

Question 37

What spending condition failed the coercion test in NFIB v. Sebelius?

Answer 37

The threat to withhold all Medicaid funding unless states accepted expansion.

Question 38

When can states be sued despite the 11th Amendment?

Answer 38

1.By the U.S. or another state 2.If they waive immunity 3.For prospective injunctive relief (Ex parte Young) 5.Under §5 of the 14A (if clearly stated by Congress)

Question 39

What powers can override sovereign immunity?

Answer 39

Only 14A §5 (not the Commerce Clause or Spending Power)

Question 40

What does §5 of the 14th Amendment allow Congress to do?

Answer 40

Enforce the rights in §1 through "appropriate legislation"

Question 41

What is the test for whether 14th §5 legislation is valid?

Answer 41

The "congruence and proportionality" test (City of Boerne v. Flores)

Question 42

What must Congress show to justify 14th §5 enforcement?

Answer 42

1. Identify the constitutional right and level of scrutiny 2. Show a pattern/history of state violations 3. Ensure remedy is congruent and proportional

Question 43

Name additional powers Congress holds under Article I.

Answer 43

Borrow money, regulate immigration, bankruptcies, coin money, patents, create lower courts, manage territories, war powers.

Question 44

Can Congressional War Powers extend beyond formal end of war? (Case)

Answer 44

Yes — Woods v. Cloyd W. Miller Co. (1948).

Question 45

What happens if a valid treaty conflicts with a state law?

Answer 45

The treaty prevails (Missouri v. Holland, 1920).

Question 46

What are enumerated powers?

Answer 46

Powers specifically listed in the Constitution.