[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7289-7291]
[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. HUNTER:
       H.R. 1891.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution
           By Mr. ROGERS of Michigan:
        H.R. 1892.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the 
     United States government are carried out to support the 
     national security interests of the United States, to support 
     and assist the armed forces of the United States, and to 
     support the President in the execution of the foreign policy 
     of the United States.
       Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
     States provides, in pertinent part, that ``Congress shall 
     have power . . . to pay the debts and provide for the common 
     defense and general welfare of the United States''; ``. . . 
     to raise and support armies . . .''; ``To provide and 
     maintain a Navy''; ``To make Rules for the Government and 
     Regulation of the land and naval Forces''; and ``To make all 
     laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
     Execution the foregoing Powers and all other Powers vested in 
     this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or 
     in any Department or Officer thereof.''
           By Mr. MICA:
       H.R. 1893.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, 
     specifically Clause 1, Clause 3, and Clause 18.
           By Mr. GOWDY:
       H.R. 1894.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8: ``To raise and support armies, but no 
     appropriation of money to use shall be for a longer term than 
     two years; to make rules for the government and regulation of 
     the land and naval forces.''
           By Mr. MARKEY:
       H.R. 1895.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 1.
           By Mr. WEINER:
       H.R. 1896.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States 
     Constitution.
           By Mr. SMITH of New Jersey:
       H.R. 1897.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:

[[Page 7290]]

       The constitutional authority on which this bill is based is 
     Congress's power under Article I, Section 8, Clause I of the 
     Constitution.
           By Mr. REHBERG:
       H.R. 1898.
       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.
       The specific Constitutional Authority cited here is not 
     intended and should not be construed to be exclusive of any 
     other general or specific Constitutional Authority that is 
     otherwise applicable.
           By Mr. CONYERS:
       H.R. 1899.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3.
           By Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas:
       H.R. 1900.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
       This bill in enacted pursuant to the power granted to 
     Congress under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 of the United 
     States Constitution.
       ``The Congress shall have Power . . . to make all Law 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 and 
     Department or Officer thereof.
           By Mr. RUSH:
       H.R. 1901.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This Bill is enacted pursuant to Article I, Section 8, 
     Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, known as the 
     ``General Welfare Clause.''
       By Mr. RUSH:
       H.R. 1902.
       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. WOOLSEY:
       H.R. 1903.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This bill is introduced under the powers granted to 
     Congress under Article 1 of the Constitution.
            By Mr. GOSAR:
       H.R. 1904.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This bill addresses federal transfer of federal land. 
     Accordingly, we turn to the following constitutional 
     authority:
       Article IV of the Constitution provides the authority of 
     Congress over federal property as a general matter. Article 
     IV, Sec. 3 refers to the managerial authority over property 
     owned by the Federal Government, and provides in relevant 
     part:
       The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all 
     needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or 
     other Property belonging to the United States; . . .
       By virtue of this enumerated power, Congress has governing 
     authority over the lands, territories, or other property of 
     the United States--and with this authority Congress is vested 
     with the power accredited to all owners in fee, the power to 
     sell, lease, dispose, exchange, transfer, trade, mine, or 
     simply preserve land. The appropriate acreage to be held 
     under Federal dominance is not the subject of this bill. 
     Turning to the power of Article IV, Sec. 3, the Supreme Court 
     has described this enumerated grant as one ``without 
     limitation'' Kleppe v. New Mexico, 426 U.S. 529, 542-543 
     (1976) (``And while the furthest reaches of the power granted 
     by the Property Clause have not yet been definitively 
     resolved, we have repeatedly observed that `[t]he power over 
     the public land thus entrusted to Congress is without 
     limitations.'' Citing United States v. San Francisco, 310 
     U.S. 29. The Court in Kleppe further explained that ``In 
     short, Congress exercises the powers both of a proprietor and 
     of a legislature over the public domain.'' Id. Like any 
     ``proprietor'' Congress has the power to sell or exchange 
     federal property.
       It is now generally accepted that the Federal Government 
     may own and manage property in the manner and form mandated 
     by Congress. United States v. Gratiot, 39 U.S. 526 (1840); 
     Camfield v. United States, 167 U.S. 518 (1897). However, the 
     wisdom of the Federal Government owning large tracts of land, 
     particularly in the Western States, is subject to question on 
     policy grounds, and some contend on Constitutional grounds 
     based on the decision in Pollard's Lessee v. Hagan, 44 U.S. 
     212 (where the Court stated that ``a proper examination of 
     this subject will show that the United States never held any 
     municipal sovereignty, jurisdiction, or right of soil in and 
     to the territory of which Alabama or any of the new States 
     were formed, except for temporary purposes. . . .'' 
     Historically, the early federal government transferred 
     ownership of federal property to either private ownership or 
     to state ownership in order to pay off the then crushing 
     Revolutionary War debts and to assist with the development of 
     infrastructure. These are still acceptable goals for federal 
     property sale or transfer.
       The land exchange here is one that comports with good 
     policy and constitutional strictures since by exchanging the 
     land set forth in this bill, a large commercial grade copper 
     mine will be able to proceed with the attendant economic 
     benefits with which such a proposition inures (assuming 
     compliance with other requirements set forth in the bill), 
     but the Federal Government also gains equally valuable land 
     that has significance for other purposes.
       Article 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 addresses property ceded by a 
     state and conveys exclusive regulatory federal jurisdiction 
     over these federal properties and enclaves. Section 8, Cl, 17 
     may also provide some guidance here to the extent it grants 
     Congress the power to ``exercise like Authority over all 
     Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the 
     State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, 
     Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards and other needful 
     Buildings.'' But it is Article IV that this bill is grounded 
     upon.
           By Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN:
       H.R. 1905.
       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. COLE:
       H.R. 1906.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This bill is enacted pursuant to the powers granted under 
     Article I, Section 1 which grants the authority to enact laws 
     to the Congress.
       This bill is enacted pursuant to the powers granted under 
     Article I, Section 4 which grants Congress the authority to 
     prescribe the manner of holding of elections.
           By Mr. CALVERT:
       H.R. 1907.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The constitutional authority of Congress to enact this 
     legislation is provided by Article I, section 8 of the United 
     States Constitution, specifically clause 1 and clause 18.
           By Mr. AKIN:
       H.R. 1908.
       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;''
           By Mr. BACA:
       H.R. 1909.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3
           By Mr. BARTLETT:
       H.R. 1910.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 the General Welfare Clause, 
     and Article I, Section 8, Clause 14 Military Regulation 
     Clause, and Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 the Necessary and 
     Proper Clause.
           By Mr. BRALEY of Iowa:
       H.R. 1911.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This bill is enacted pursuant to the power granted to 
     Congress under Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the United 
     States Constitution.
           By Mr. CICILLINE:
       H.R. 1912.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8
           By Mr. COHEN:
       H.R. 1913.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Clauses 1 and 3 of Article I, Section 8 of the United 
     States Constitution.
           By Mr. CUELLAR:
       H.R. 1914.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       According to Article 1: Section 8: Clause 18: of the United 
     States Constitution, seen below, this bill falls within the 
     Constitutional Authority of the United States Congress.

[[Page 7291]]

       Article 1: 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. GRIFFITH of Virginia:
       H.R. 1915.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Sec. 8, clause 3 of the United States 
     Constitution.
           By Mr. HINCHEY:
       H.R. 1916.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The constitutional authority of Congress to enact this 
     legislation is provided by Article I, section 8 of the United 
     States Constitution, specifically clause 1 (relating to the 
     power of Congress to provide for the general welfare of the 
     United States) and clause 18 (relating to the power to make 
     all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the powers 
     vested in Congress), and Article IV, section 3, clause 2 
     (relating to the power of Congress to dispose of and make all 
     needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or 
     other property belonging to the United States)
           By Mr. KIND:
       H.R. 1917.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I Section 8.
           By Mrs. McCARTHY of New York:
       H.R. 1918.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This bill is enacted pursuant to the powers granted to the 
     Congress by Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United 
     States Constitution.
           By Mrs. McCARTHY of New York:
       H.R. 1919.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       This bill is enacted pursuant to the powers granted to the 
     Congress by Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United 
     States Constitution.
           By Mrs. NOEM:
       H.R. 1920.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, the Commerce Clause.
           By Mr. POMPEO:
       H.R. 1921.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Clause 1 of Article 1, Section 8, which grants Congress 
     with the authority to provide for the common defense and 
     general welfare of the United States and Clause 18 of Article 
     1, Section 8, which allows the authority to make laws deemed 
     necessary and proper.
           By Mr. QUAYLE:
       H.R. 1922.
       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.
           By Mr. QUIGLEY:
       H.R. 1923.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8.
           By Mr. QUIGLEY:
       H.R. 1924.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       The constitutional authority on which this bill rests is 
     the power of Congress to regulate Commerce with foreign 
     Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian 
     Tribes; as enumerated in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of 
     the United States Constitution.
           By Mr. RAHALL:
       H.R. 1925.
       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. ROHRABACHER:
       H.R. 1926.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to Article 1, Section 8, Clauses 12-14 of the United States 
     Constitution.
           By Mr. SABLAN:
       H.R. 1927.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Under Clause 4, Congress has the power to establish a 
     uniform Rule of Naturalization--to define the terms under 
     which a foreign person can become a citizen of the U.S. 
     Congress also has the power to exclude aliens and to 
     prescribe the terms under which they are allowed to enter the 
     U.S.
           By Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California:
       H.R. 1928.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       ``The constitutional authority of Congress to enact this 
     legislation is provided by Article I, section 8 of the United 
     States Constitution (clauses 12, 13, 14, 16, and 18), which 
     grants Congress the power to raise and support an Army; to 
     provide and maintain a Navy; to make rules for the government 
     and regulation of the land and naval forces; to provide for 
     organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia; and to make 
     all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the foregoing 
     powers.''
           By Mr. SENSENBRENNER:
       H.R. 1929.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 4
           By Mr. STEARNS:
       H.R. 1930.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 14
           By Ms. TSONGAS:
       H.R. 1931.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.
           By Mr. NEUGEBAUER:
       H.J. Res. 63.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Constitutional Amendments
       Article V
       The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem 
     it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, 
     or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of 
     the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing 
     Amendments, which in either Case, shall be valid to all 
     Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when 
     ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several 
     States or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one 
     or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the 
     Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior 
     to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any 
     Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth 
     Section of the first Article; and that no State without its 
     Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the 
     Senate.
           By Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas:
       H.J. Res. 64.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Necessary and Proper Regulations to Effectuate Powers
       Article I, Section 8
       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.

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