[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2091]
[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. WALDEN:
       H.R. 4596.
       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 3 of the United 
     States Constitution.
            By Mr. BROOKS of Alabama:
       H.R. 4597.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.
           By Mr. BROOKS of Alabama:
       H.R. 4598.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.
            By Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts:
       H.R. 4599.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8
            By Mr. THOMPSON of California:
       H.R. 4600.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 4
            By Mr. GOSAR:
       H.R. 4601.
       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, territories, or other property of 
     the United States- and with this authority Congress is vested 
     with the power to 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 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 transfer 
     of reversionary interest by this legislation is thus 
     constitutional and necessary to ensure private property 
     owners are able to utilize and control their private 
     property.
            By Mr. POE of Texas:
       H.R. 4602.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8
            By Mr. CICILLINE:
       H.R. 4603.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8
           By Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas:
       H.R. 4604.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 (``the Commerce Clause'') of 
     the United States Constitution
           By Mr. BLUM:
       H.R. 4605.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8, Clause 7 of the Constitution of the 
     United States
            By Mr. DEUTCH:
       H.R. 4606.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Clause 1 of Section 8 of Article I of the U.S. Constitution 
     and Clause 18 of Section 8 of Article I of the U.S. 
     Constitution.
            By Mr. HUFFMAN:
       H.R. 4607.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       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; and nothing in 
     this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any 
     claims of the United States, or of any particular state. 
     [Article 4, Section 3, Clause 2 of the United States 
     Constitution]
            By Mr. ISRAEL:
       H.R. 4608.
       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, Clauses 1 of the United 
     States Constitution.
           By Mr. KILMER:
       H.R. 4609.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.
            By Mr. KNIGHT:
       H.R. 4610.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Clauses 1, 3, and 18 of section 8 and clause 7 of section 9 
     of article I, of the Constitution of the United States.
           By Mr. TED LIEU of California:
       H.R. 4611.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
     States.

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