Back in January, the House leadership adopted the rule that no bill could be introduced without a statement citing “as specifically as practicable” Congress’ constitutional powers to enact it. I warned that the move would likely turn out to be an empty gimmick. Being forced to cite constitutional authority won’t constrain you if your constitutional theory says, as Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) put it in a town-hall meeting last summer:
The 20th century saw radical growth in government in part because Progressives and their heirs learned to interpret their way around constitutional restrictions, adopting interpretations of the Commerce, General Welfare, and Necessary and Proper clauses that made a mockery of the idea that the federal government’s powers are limited. Today, when any congressman can plug in a boilerplate citation to those clauses, the requirement that every bill have a “Constitutional Authority Statement” isn’t even a speed bump on the road to serfdom.
A new report from the House’s Republican Study Committee compiles “the Statements for every bill and joint resolution introduced this Congress (3042 bills as of September 16, 2011).” The results suggest, shockingly enough, that few legislators took their constitutional oath seriously:
3 bills cite only the Preamble to the Constitution.
84 bills cite only Article 1, which creates the Legislative Branch.
58 bills cite only Article 1, Section 1, which grants all legislative powers to Congress.
470 bills cite only Article 1, Section 8, which is the list of specific powers of Congress, without citing any specific clause.
539 bills cite Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1, which grants Congress its taxing power and contains the “general welfare” and “common defense” language.
567 bills cite Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, the commerce clause.
247 bills cite Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18, the “necessary and proper” clause, without citing a “foregoing power” as required by clause 18.
…and so on. This ad from my colleagues at Cato succinctly explains what’s wrong with Congress’s predictably overbroad interpretations of those constitutional provisions. As it suggests, restoring constitutional government will require a lot more than getting legislators to “check a box” before they continue with business as usual.
