[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11336-11337]
[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 Mrs. BLACKBURN:
        H.R. 3018.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3
            By Ms. DeLAURO:
        H.R. 3019.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution
            By Mr. COLE:
        H.R. 3020.
        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.
           By Mr. POMPEO:
        H.R. 3021.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3
            By Mr. ABRAHAM:
        H.R. 3022.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States 
     Constitution
            By Mr. BUCK:
        H.R. 3023.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States
            By Mr. BOUSTANY:
        H.R. 3024.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3--Business/Labor Regulation--
     The Congress shall have Power to regulate Commerce with 
     foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the 
     Indian Tribes.
            By Mr. COOK:
        H.R. 3025.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8
            By Mr. COOK:
        H.R. 3026.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8
           By Mr. GOSAR:
        H.R. 3027.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 (the Property Clause). 
     Under this clause, Congress has the 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, terroritories, or other property of 
     the United States- and with this authority Congress is vested 
     with the power to

[[Page 11337]]

     all owners in fee, the ability to sell, lease, dispose, 
     exchange, convey, or simply preserve land. 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 been definitely resolved, we 
     have repeatedly observed that the power over the public land 
     thus entrusted to Congress is without limitation.'')
       Historically, the the federal government transferred 
     ownership of federal property to either private ownership or 
     the states in order to pay off large Revolutionary War debts 
     and to assist with the development of infrastructure. The 
     transfers to private and state ownership by this legislation 
     are constituional and necessary to resolve a long-term 
     boundary discrepancy and to ensure private property owners 
     are able to utilize and control their private property
            By Mr. JEFFRIES:
        H.R. 3028.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       US Const. Art. II, Sec. 3, Cl. 3 (``[The President] shall 
     take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed[.]''); and US 
     Const. Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 18 (``Congress shall have the 
     power . . . To make all Laws which shall be necessary and 
     proper for carrying into Execution . . . all other Powers 
     vested in this Constitution in the Government of the United 
     States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.''). This 
     bill would instruct the Attorney General to give preferential 
     treatment to police forces that meet certain criteria when 
     distributing grant money, therefore this bill is a valid 
     exercise of Congressional authority per the Necessary and 
     Proper Clause provided the Attorney General's duties, as an 
     agent of the President, to enforce federal law and punish 
     criminal wrongdoing.
            By Ms. NORTON:
        H.R. 3029.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following: clause 18 of section 8 of article I of the 
     Constitution.
            By Mr. PETERSON:
        H.R. 3030.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article IV, section 3, Clause 2: 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 Mr. SALMON:
        H.R. 3031.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       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 Ms. SINEMA:
        H.R. 3032.
        Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3; Article I, Section 8, 
     Clause 18

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