[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1039 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1039

To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United 
 States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 17 (legislative day, July 10), 1995

 Mr. Abraham (for himself, Mr. Dole, Mr. Brown, Mr. Hatch, Mr. DeWine, 
 Mr. Kyl, and Mr. Kempthorne) introduced the following bill; which was 
       read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United 
 States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SPECIFICATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY FOR ENACTMENT OF 
              LAW.

    (a) Constitutional Authority.--This Act is enacted pursuant to the 
power granted Congress under Article I, section 8, clause 18, of the 
United States Constitution.
    (b) In General.--Chapter 2 of title 1, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 102 the following new section:
``Sec. 102a. Constitutional authority clause
    ``(a) A constitutional authority clause shall follow the enacting 
clause of any Act of Congress or the resolving clause of any joint 
resolution. The constitutional authority clause shall be in the 
following form (with appropriate modifications and appropriate matter 
inserted in the blanks):
    ```This Act (or resolution) is enacted pursuant to the power(s) 
granted to the Congress under Article(s) ______________ section(s) 
______________, clause(s) ______________ of the United States 
Constitution.'''.
    ``(b) A similar clause shall precede the first title, section, 
subsection or paragraph, and each following title, section, subsection 
or paragraph to the extent the later title, section, subsection or 
paragraph relies on a different article, section, or clause of the 
Constitution from the one pursuant to which the first title, section, 
subsection or paragraph is enacted.''.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 2 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 102 the following:

``102a. Constitutional authority clause.''.
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