[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 958-959]
[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. GOHMERT:
       H.R. 582.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, ``The 
     Congress shall have Power . . . to regulate Commerce . . . 
     among the several States.'' Telecommunication devices, such 
     as a multi-line telephone system (MLTS), enable the 
     interstate transmission of voice telephony communication. 
     Additionally, MLTS devices enter the stream of commerce as 
     part of an economic enterprise and affect interstate commerce 
     in that they are bought, sold and transported across state 
     lines, and under Article I, Section 8 Congress has the 
     authority to regulate products in interstate Commerce. See 
     also, U.S. v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995).
            By Mrs. BLACKBURN:
       H.R. 583.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States 
     Constitution.
            By Mr. DONOVAN:
       H.R. 584.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
     States.
            By Mr. ELLISON:
       H.R. 585.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 1.
            By Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia:
       H.R. 586.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 that states that Congress 
     shall have the Power ``To make all Laws which shall be 
     necessary 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.''
       Additionally, Section 1 of the XIV Amendment states, ``. . 
     . nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or 
     property, without due process of law. . .'' and under Section 
     5 of the XIV Amendment, ``The Congress shall have power to 
     enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this 
     article.''
            By Mr. KENNEDY:
       H.R. 587.

[[Page 959]]

       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article I, Section 8--to provide for the general welfare 
     and to regulate commerce among the states.
            By Mr. PALLONE:
       H.R. 588.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article 1, Section 8, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. 
     That provision gives Congress the power ``to regulate 
     commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, 
     and with the Indian tribes.''

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