Con Law - Week 5

Taxing and Spending Power

Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the US

Article I creates broad power to tax/spend that exists independently of other enumerated powers

• Congress can use its spending power to effectively regulate areas even when it otherwise does not have the power to regulate the area - by attaching strings to govt grants

• federal spending may be for any public purpose

T&S - Sabri

• congress has authority under Spending Clause to appropriate federal money to promote general welfare

• and has authority under Necessary and Proper Clause to see to it that taxpayer dollars appropriated under that power are in fact spent for the general welfare and not frittered away, undermined, or siphoned off

Spending and Coercion

congress can require states to regulate by placing conditions on federal spending, HOWEVER these conditions must

• be clearly stated by the federal govt

• relate to the purpose of the federal govt

• not be unduly coercive on the states

  • under the circumstances do states have realistic option to say no

  • how much of budget is being threatened

  • for loss of existing funds, did states have notice of possible change when they accepted the federal funds

blank