Legislative Power Flashcards
What are some types of powers?
Congress can exercise the powers enumerated in the Constitution (under Article I, Section 8) plus any powers necessary and proper to carry out any of its enumerated powers.
Does Congress have police power?
Congress has no general police power (that is, it has no general power to legislate for the health, safety, and welfare of the nation). However, Congress has police power type powers over the District of Columbia, federal lands, military bases, and Indian reservations (based on its power over the capital and its property power).
What is the necessary and proper clause?
Congress has the power to make all laws necessary and proper (appropriate or rational) to carry out any of the legislative powers enumerated in Article I, as long as that law does not violate another provision of the Constitution.
What is the taxing and spending power?
Congress has the power to tax and spend to provide for the general welfare. Taxing and spending may be for any public purpose not prohibited by the Constitution.
What are the spending power conditions?
Under the spending power, Congress can impose conditions on the grant of money to state or local governments(so-called “strings” attached). Such conditions are valid if they (1) are clearly stated, (2) relate to the purpose of the program, (3) are not unduly coercive, and (4) do not otherwise violate the Constitution.
Are taxes generally valid?
Most federal taxes will be upheld if they bear some reasonable relationship to revenue production or to promoting the general welfare. Rarely, a tax may be regarded as an impermissible regulatory ‘penalty’—for example, if it seeks to compel rather than simply influence behavior. Conversely, what Congress labels as a ‘penalty’ may be deemed a permissible tax if it functions as a tax in raising revenue or influencing (but not compelling) behavior. For example, a law that required individuals to pay a “penalty” if they didn’t purchase health insurance was found to be a tax where the penalty was payable along with income taxes, varied by income and taxpayer status (single, joint, and so on), and was estimated to bring $4 billion into federal coffers
What is the commerce power?
Congress has the power to regulate all foreign and interstate commerce, as well as commerce with Indian tribes. To be within Congress’s Commerce Clause power, a federal law regulating interstate commerce must either:
• Regulate the channels of interstate commerce (for example, highways, waterways, telephone lines, the internet)
• Regulate the instrumentalities of interstate commerce (for example, planes, trains, automobiles) and persons and things in interstate commerce or
• Regulate activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce
What is commerce power through intrastate activity?
When Congress attempts to regulate intrastate (in other words, local) activity under the third prong, above, the Court will uphold the regulation if it can think of a rational basis on which Congress could conclude that the activity in the aggregate substantially affects interstate commerce. Example: Congress could regulate the growing of wheat or marijuana in one’s own backyard, even if it’s for personal consumption.
What is the commerce power tenth amendment limitation?
The Court has interpreted the Tenth Amendment to preclude Congress from regulating noneconomic intrastate activity in areas traditionally regulated by state or local governments. Example: Congress cannot criminalize intrastate domestic violence against women, even though in the aggregate such violence substantially affects interstate commerce because of the loss of work, travel, and spending by victims.
What is commerce power activity versus inactivity?
The Commerce Clause gives Congress power only to regulate existing commercial activity; it does not give Congress power to compel activity.
Does the commerce power give congress the power to prohibit private discrimination?
Under the commerce power, Congress may prohibit private discrimination in activities that might have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Contrast that with public discrimination (that is, by state or local governments), which Congress can directly regulate under its Fourteenth Amendment enforcement power (discussed infra).
Can congress declare war?
The Constitution gives Congress power to declare war, raise and support armies, and provide for and maintain a navy.
What is economic regulation?
Economic regulation during war and in the postwar period to remedy wartime disruptions has been upheld.
What is the judicial review for military courts and tribunals?
Congress authorized the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, a specialized civilian court, to review military cases. The Supreme Court has the ability to review some, but not all, decisions from court-martial proceedings.
What happens to enemy civilians and soldiers?
Enemy civilians and soldiers may be tried by military courts. However, Congress can’t deny habeas corpus review to all aliens detained as enemy combatants absent a meaningful substitute for habeas corpus review.
