[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13635-13636]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

  Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the following statements are submitted regarding the 
specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the 
accompanying bill or joint resolution.

           By Mr. HULTGREN:
       H.R. 2910.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Clause 3 of section 8 of article I of the Constitution.
           By Mr. GOHMERT:
       H.R. 2911.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       U.S. Constitution Article I Section 8 Clause 1: The 
     Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes...
       U.S Constitution--Amendment XVI
           By Mr. LARSEN of Washington:
       H.R. 2912.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Under Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, ``the House 
     of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every 
     second Year by the People of the several States.'' As 
     described in Article 1, Section 1 ``all legislative powers 
     herein granted shall be vested in a Congress.'' I was elected 
     in 2010 to serve in the 112th Congress as certified by the 
     Secretary of State of Washington state.
       Article III, Section 2 states that the Supreme Court has 
     ``the judicial power'' that ``shall extend to all cases, in 
     law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of 
     the United States.'' Article II, Section 1 of the 
     Constitution provides that the Supreme Court is the supreme 
     law of the land when stating ``The judicial power of the 
     United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court.''
       The power of judicial review of the Supreme Court was 
     upheld in Marbury v Madison in 1803, giving the Supreme Court 
     the authority to strike down any law it deems 
     unconstitutional. Members of Congress, having been elected 
     and taken the oath of office, are given the authority to 
     introduce legislation and only the Supreme Court, as 
     established by the Constitution and precedent, can determine 
     the Constitutionality of this authority.
           By Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado:
       H.R. 2913.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The power of Congress to make law regarding the 
     compensation for the services of Senators and 
     Representatives, as enumerated in Article I, Section 6, 
     Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, as amended by the 
     27th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
           By Ms. SCHAKOWSKY:
       H.R. 2914.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 1
       The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, 
     Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for 
     the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; 
     but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform 
     throughout the United States.
       Article I, Section 9, Clause 7
       No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in 
     Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular 
     Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all 
     public Money shall be published from time to time.
           By Mr. McCLINTOCK:
       H.R. 2915.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, section 1 and Article I, section 8, clause 18 of 
     the Constitution of the United States of America.
           By Mr. CULBERSON:
       H.R. 2916.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Tenth Amendment, Constitution of the United States
           By Mr. CULBERSON:
       H.R. 2917.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Tenth Amendment, Constitution of the United States
           By Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN:
       H.R. 2918.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8.
       (The Constitutional authorities cited in our Committee 
     reports on legislation during the past several years are 
     highlighted on the other side of this page.
       The overwhelming majority have cited ``article I, section 8 
     of the Constitution.''
       A handful had slightly more specific citations to ``article 
     I, section 8, clause 18 of the Constitution.''
       A couple bills with trade/sanctions components have cited 
     ``article I, section 8, clauses 3 and 18 of the 
     Constitution.''
       And one anti-trafficking bill (with significant domestic 
     law enforcement components) cited ``article I, section 8 of 
     the Constitution and the Thirteenth Amendment to the 
     Constitution.''
       The one consistent exception is Resolutions of Inquiry, 
     which always cite ``article I, section 1 of the 
     Constitution.'')
           By Mr. BACHUS:
       H.R. 2919.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, section 8, clause 1 (relating to the general 
     welfare of the United States).
           By Mr. CLARKE of Michigan:
       H.R. 2920.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the 
     United States
           By Ms. CLARKE of New York:
       H.R. 2921.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This bill, the ``Expanding Opportunities for Small Business 
     Act of 2011'' is enacted pursuant to the power granted to 
     Congress under Article I of the United States Constitution 
     and amends the Small Business Act with respect to assistance 
     under 8(a) of that Act and goals for procurement contracts.
           By Ms. DeGETTE:
       H.R. 2922.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the 
     Constitution of the United States.
           By Mr. DONNELLY of Indiana:
       H.R. 2923.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution (Clauses 12, 13, 
     14 and 16) grants Congress the authority to raise and support 
     Armies, provide and maintain a Navy, make rules for the 
     government and regulation of the land and naval forces, and 
     regulate the militia.
           By Mr. FORBES:
       H.R. 2924.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 7
           By Mr. GERLACH:
       H.R. 2925.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The Congress enacts this bill pursuant to Clause 1 of 
     Section 8 of Article I of the United States Constitution.
           By Mr. GOWDY:
       H.R. 2926.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.
           By Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas:
       H.R. 2927.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:

[[Page 13636]]

       Article I, Section 8, Clause 18.
       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 the 
     Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in 
     any Department or Officer thereof.
           By Mr. KILDEE:
       H.R. 2928.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Section 8: The Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate 
     Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, 
     and with the Indian Tribes.
           By Mr. LABRADOR:
       H.R. 2929.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 18: 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 in the Government of the United States, or in 
     any Department or Officer thereof.
            By Mr. McHENRY:
        H.R. 2930.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article One, Section Eight.
            By Mr. NADLER:
        H.R. 2931.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Art. I, sec. 8, cl. 1 (to pay Debts), cl. 18 (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 in the Government of the United States, 
     or in any Department or Officer thereof).
            By Mr. PENCE:
        H.R. 2932.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The Congress enacts this bill pursuant to Amendment I of 
     the United States Constitution.
            By Mr. POLIS:
        H.R. 2933.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3
       The Congress shall have Power to regulate Commerce with 
     foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the 
     Indian Tribes.
            By Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California:
        H.R. 2934.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Section 8 of Article I: The 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;
       Amendment XVI: The Congress shall have power to lay and 
     collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, 
     without apportionment among the several states, and without 
     regard to any census or enumeration.
            By Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky:
        H.J. Res. 79.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The principal constitutional authority for this legislation 
     is clause 7 of section 9 of article I of the Constitution of 
     the United States (the appropriation power), which states: 
     ``No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in 
     Consequence of Appropriations made by Law . . . .'' In 
     addition, clause 1 of section 8 of article I of the 
     Constitution (the spending power) provides: ``The Congress 
     shall have the Power . . . to pay the Debts and provide for 
     the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States . 
     . . .'' Together, these specific constitutional provisions 
     establish the congressional power of the purse, granting 
     Congress the authority to appropriate funds, to determine 
     their purpose, amount, and period of availability, and to set 
     forth terms and conditions governing their use.

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