	Introduction

On January 5, 2011, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment to House Rule XII to require that Members of the House state the constitutional basis for Congress's power to enact the proposed legislation when introducing a bill or joint resolution. (The amendment does not pertain to concurrent or simple resolutions.) The Constitutional Authority Statement (CAS) rule, found at House Rule XII, clause 7(c), was subsequently adopted in the 113th, 114th, 115th, and 116th Congresses. Scope of Congress's Powers Under the Constitution

Understanding the purpose and logic of the CAS rule first requires an understanding of both the powers provided to the Congress under the Constitution and Congress's role in interpreting the Constitution. Limits on Congress's Powers

The Constitution imposes two central types of limitations on the powers of Congress. Second, beyond the internal limits on Congress's powers, the Constitution also imposes "external" constraints on congressional action, or affirmative prohibitions found elsewhere in the text or structure of the document. The First Amendment, for example, prohibits Congress from enacting a law that abridges the freedom of speech. In its 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court held that the logic of having a written Constitution that enumerates the legal limits imposed on the federal government, coupled with the tenure protections provided to the federal judiciary under the Constitution, confirmed the Supreme Court's role in interpreting the Constitution and invalidating acts of other branches of government that contravene this document in the context of a live case or controversy. To the contrary, the early history of the United States is replete with examples of all three branches of the federal government playing a role in constitutional interpretation, with Congress and the Executive openly questioning the Supreme Court's pronouncements on constitutional law, such as the Court's rulings on the National Bank or slavery. In recent decades, a number of legal scholars and government officials have criticized the judicial supremacy view, instead advancing the view that the Constitution should more regularly be the subject of interpretation by those outside of the judicial branch. Supporters of this view point to the fact that the Constitution requires all Members of Congress to "be bound by Oath or Affirmation ... to support [the] Constitution ... ," a requirement that presumes Senators and Representatives must understand and interpret the Constitution in their work in Congress. House Rule XII, Clause 7(c), and Constitutional Authority Statements

Originally adopted as an amendment to House Rule XII on January 5, 2011, the CAS rule prohibits Members from introducing a bill or joint resolution without a "statement citing as specifically as practicable the power or powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the bill or joint resolution." The submitted CAS appears in the Congressional Record and is published electronically on Congress.gov. 2. 3. More broadly, the Rules Committee guidance indicates that Members have significant discretion in determining whether particular CASs comply with the rule. This statement suggests that the CAS rule is enforced only insofar as "the House clerk ... acts to verify that each bill has a justification" and "not [in judging] the adequacy of the justification itself." Most commonly, in 58% of cases, the CAS cited to a specific clause in Article I, Section 8, such as the Taxing and Spending Clause or the Commerce Clause. Among the most prominent examples of CASs that could be seen as adopting an interpretation of the Constitution that potentially diverges from historical understandings or judicial interpretations of a particular clause include statements that cite to the following clauses:
Necessary and Proper Clause : One of the most frequently cited clauses in recent CASs was the Necessary and Proper Clause, which allows Congress to "make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution" the powers enumerated in Article I and "all other Powers vested by [the] Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." Others contend that the administrative costs of complying with the rule outweigh any benefits from the CAS requirement.
On January 5, 2011, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment to House Rule XII to require that Members state the constitutional basis for Congress's power to enact the proposed legislation when introducing a bill or joint resolution. (The amendment does not pertain to concurrent or simple resolutions). This Constitutional Authority Statement (CAS) rule, found at House Rule XII, clause 7(c), was subsequently adopted by every subsequent Congress.
Understanding the CAS rule first requires an understanding of both the powers provided to the Congress under the Constitution and Congress's role in interpreting the founding document. Article I's Vesting Clause creates a Congress of specified or "enumerated" powers, and every law Congress enacts must be based on one or more of its powers enumerated in the Constitution. The Constitution creates two central types of limitations on Congress's powers: (1) internal limits and (2) external limits. Internal limits are the restrictions inherent in the constitutional grants of power themselves, such as the limits on the scope of Congress's powers under the Commerce Clause. External limits, on the other hand, are the constraints contained in affirmative prohibitions found elsewhere in the text or structure of the document, such as the First Amendment's prohibition on Congress abridging the freedom of speech. While the Court's 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison firmly cemented the judicial branch's role in interpreting the Constitution by recognizing the power of the Court to strike down legislation as unconstitutional, the early history of the nation is replete with examples of all three government branches playing a substantial role in constitutional interpretation. By the mid-20th century, however, the Supreme Court began articulating a theory of judicial supremacy that became widely accepted, wherein the federal judiciary is the final and exclusive arbiter of the Constitution's meaning. Nonetheless, in recent decades, a number of legal scholars and government officials have criticized this theory, instead promoting the view that the political branches of government possess the independent and coordinate authority to interpret the Constitution. In support of this view, some point to (1) the Constitution itself requiring all Members of Congress to be bound by an oath to support the Constitution; (2) the presumption of constitutionality that courts afford legislation enacted by Congress; and (3) the wide range of questions the Constitution requires Congress to resolve.
A CAS is fundamentally a congressional interpretation of the Constitution, in that House Rule XII requires each Member introducing a piece of legislation to attach a statement that cites the power(s) that allows Congress to enact the legislation. The submitted CAS appears in the Congressional Record and is published on Congress.gov. The House Rules Committee has indicated that Members have significant discretion in determining whether particular CASs comply with the rule. The CAS rule is enforced only insofar as "the House clerk ... acts to verify that each bill has a justification" and "not [in judging] the adequacy of the justification itself." The most common means of complying with the rule is to cite to a specific clause in Article I, Section 8, such as the Taxing and Spending Clause. The CAS rule has itself been subject to much debate, with proponents arguing that the rule promotes constitutional dialogue in the House, while critics contend that the rule provides minimal benefits and is administratively costly.