Questionable Constitutional Authority Statements For Bills

The U.S. House rules now require sponsors of legislation to provide a Constitutional Authority Statement that explains how Congress has the constitutionally-derived authority to enact their proposals. Constitutional nerds (normally Conservative Americans) and others who wish to have a laugh or to evaluate a Congressional Representative efforts to justify their bills based on the Constitution will find the following attempts interesting.

Questionable 2012 Constitutional Authority Statements
June 14, 2012 - Rep. Larsen intentionally refuses to offer a constitutional justification.
June 7, 2012 - Rep. Carson cites House Rules, including those for expelling a Member, to award Muhammad Ali a gold medal.
May 31, 2012 - Rep. Visclosky cites a clause which does not exist.
May 24, 2012 - Rep. McDermott cites the general process of legislation to justify a particular bill.
May 17, 2012 - Rep. Perlmutter cites the a clause on pre-Constitutional debts to justify a bill about Freddie Mac.
May 10, 2012 - Rep Carnahan cites the creation of the Congress to justify a specific Congressional action.
May 3, 2012 - Rep. Grijalva presumably cites all legislative powers without reference to a specific clause.
April 26, 2012 - Rep. Conyers cites "Article I" without explanation or reference to a specific clause.
April 19, 2012 - Rep. Fattah cites only the "necessary and proper" clause to justify Congressional action.
April 12, 2012 - Rep. Larson cites the creation of Congress to justify the Export-Import Bank re-authorization.
April 5, 2012 - Rep. Stark cites the general rules of legislation without explanation to justify a specific bill.
March 29, 2012 - Rep. Schiff cites only the "necessary and proper" clause and the preamble to the Constitution.
March 22, 2012 - Rep. Holt cites Article I generally without specifying a particular section or clause.
March 8, 2012 - Rep. Kaptur cites Congressional powers generally without referring to a specific grant of power.
March 1, 2012 - Rep. Kucinich cites the preamble to the Constitution to justify the creation of the Department of Peace.
February 23, 2012 - Rep. Baca cites only the “necessary and proper” clause to justify awarding a gold medal to golfer Jack Nicklaus.
February 16, 2012 - Rep. Heinrich cites the Judicial Branch to justify a Congressional action.
February 9, 2012 - Rep. Lewis cites "Article I" generally without specifying a specific section or clause.
February 7, 2012 - Rep. Polis cites the creation of a Legislative Branch to justify a specific legislative power.

As for the over all process, the House Republican Study Committee provided some annual statistics from Jan 5, 2001 when the House adopted the new rule  requiring that each bill or joint resolution introduced be accompanied by a Constitutional Authority Statement to January 5, 2012. Some findings below:

• 3 bills cite only the Preamble to the Constitution.
• 109 bills cite only Article 1, which creates the Legislative Branch.
• 69 bills cite only Article 1, Section 1, which grants Congress the power to legislate.
• 617 bills cite only Article 1, Section 8, which is the list of specific powers of Congress, without citing any specific clause.
• 660 bills cite only Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1, which grants Congress its taxing power and contains the “general welfare” and “common defense” language. 1050 bills in total cite Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1.
• 732 bills cite only Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, the commerce clause. 1048 bills in total cite Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3.
• 321 bills cite Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18, the “necessary and proper” clause, without citing a “foregoing power” as required by Clause 18.
• 351 bills cite at least two of the “necessary and proper,” “commerce,” or “general welfare” Clauses.
• 116 bills cite Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7, which provides that no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.
• 248 bills cite Article 4, Section 3, which provides that Congress shall have the power to make rules and regulations respecting the territory or property of the United States.
• 346 bills cite an amendment to the Constitution. For example, 60 cite the 10th Amendment (powers not delegated to the federal government), 34 cite the 14th Amendment (“equal protection” etc.), and 71 cite the 16th Amendment (income tax).
• Please note: Some bills cite numerous sections of or amendments to the Constitution, and may be listed more than once above.

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