Obamacare and the Origination Clause III: Propose or Concur with Amendments
Mike Rappaport
In this third post on the Origination Clause, I turn to language in the Clause that is not entirely clear: “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills” What does this italicized language mean? Perhaps the most obvious […]
Oona Hathaway et al.: The Treaty Power: Its History, Scope and Limits
Michael Ramsey
Oona Hathaway (Yale Law School), Spencer Amdur, Celia Choy, Samir Deger-Sen, Haley Nix, John Paredes, and Sally Pei have posted The Treaty Power: Its History, Scope and Limits (Cornell Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article examines the scope of the treaty power under the U.S. Constitution. A recent challenge in […]
Update on Arkansas Game & Fish v. United States
Michael Ramsey
Following up on the Supreme Court's takings clause case Arkansas Game & Fish Comimssion v. United States (argued last Wednesday; noted here): reactions to the oral argument from Damon Root (at Reason) and Ilya Somin (at Volokh Conspiracy). RELATED: Ilya Somin: Supreme Court Decides to Hear Important Regulatory Takings Case (discussing the Court's grant of […]
Carl Cecere and Lorianne Updike Toler: The Use of History before Originalism
Michael Ramsey
At SCOTUSblog, Carl Cecere and Lorianne Updike Toler: The Use of History before Originalism (summarizing the argument from this article: Pre-Originalism). Here is the article abstract from SSRN: The ongoing debate over Originalism begs the question of historical legitimacy. All sides have tried to claim that their preferred method of analysis has a stronger historical pedigree […]
Recess Appointments Case Gets More Firepower
Michael Ramsey
At the Blog of the Legal Times, Todd Ruger reports: Congressional Republicans have joined in a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in January, a legal fight focused on the constitutional limits of presidential appointment power. The report notes that the Senate Republicans are represented by Miguel Estrada […]
Rebecca Zeitlow: James Ashley’s Thirteenth Amendment
Michael Ramsey
Rebecca Zeitlow (University of Toledo School of Law) has posted James Ashley's Thirteenth Amendment (Columbia Law Review, vol. 112, 2012) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: On January 31, 1865, the United States House of Representatives voted to approve the Thirteenth Amendment. Chairing the final debate over the Amendment was Representative James Ashley, a lifelong […]
Obamacare and the Origination Clause II: Jack Balkin and Questions about the Original Meaning
Mike Rappaport
In this post, I continue my earlier discussion of the Origination Clause through a review of Jack Balkin’s views. Jack Balkin analyzes the Origination Clause issue in accord with his general approach to constitutional interpretation. Jack writes: My reading of the history is that today's practice of using shell bills is not consistent with the original expected application […]
Michael Greve: Is the Fed Still Constitutional?
Michael Ramsey
At Law & Liberty, Michael Greve asks: Is the Fed Still Constitutional? An interesting point: Our fate hangs on the Fed; and yet, it is an independent institution, immunized from direct political pressures. In a democracy, operating under a Constitution that makes no explicit provision for a central bank and in many ways resists the creation […]
Justice Stevens Reviews Sandy Levinson’s Framed
Mike Rappaport
Over at the New York Review of Books, Justice Stevens writes an interesting review of Sandy Levinson's new book Framed. Stevens writes a balanced review, but he disagrees with Sandy's recommendation in favor of a constitutional convention. Interestingly, Stevens also disagrees with Sandy's attack on the compromises that produced the Constitution — compromises that […]
Obamacare and the Origination Clause I: Introductory Thoughts
Mike Rappaport
The new challenge to Obamacare (ACA) – on the grounds that it does not conform to the Origination Clause – has been discussed by Randy Barnett and Jack Balkin among others (including of course Mike Ramsey). Sadly, irrespective of the merits of the challenge, I don’t see the Supreme Court taking this seriously. The Supreme […]