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Enumerated Powers ActEvery proposed law must identify its valid constitutional authority
Proposed for the past 16 years by my Congressman, John Shadegg (CD-3, Ariz.), and ignored by Congress all that time, this requires every introduced bill to identify where in the Constitution such lawmaking is authorized. Congress in late 2010 began taking it seriously. Every state should have such a laws as well.
There is very little writing for me to do on this one.
If a bill doesn't include the authorization statement (most current bills cannot provide a valid one because there is no valid authority for them), anyone in Congress can raise a "point of order." This allows debate on whether the bill should be allowed at all, hopefully cutting off the flow of invalid bills. There's little doubt that some lawmakers, especially the anti-American socialist ones posing as "progressives," will makes claims of delegated authority that are completely specious and phony. They'll rely on false readings of the general welfare clause, or the severely corrupted interstate-commerce clause. That's a battle we'll just have to fight. This law would give us a fort and artillery from which to fight that battle. Here's the bill as introduced in 2010, H.R. 450 •
To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 9, 2009 Mr. SHADEGG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Enumerated Powers Act'. SEC. 2. SPECIFICATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY FOR ENACTMENT OF LAW. (a) Constitutional Authority for This Act- This Act is enacted pursuant to the power granted Congress under article I, section 8, clause 18, of the United States Constitution and the power granted to each House of Congress under article I, section 5, clause 2, of the United States Constitution. (b) Constitutional Authority Statement Required- Chapter 2 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 102 the following new section: `Sec. 102a. Constitutional authority clause `Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. The failure to comply with this section shall give rise to a point of order in either House of Congress. The availability of this point of order does not affect any other available relief.' (c) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 2 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 102 the following new item: `102a. Constitutional authority clause.'. •
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