Number: RL32844
Title: Power to Regulate Commerce: Limits on Congressional Power
Authors: Kenneth R. Thomas and Todd B. Tatelman, American Law Division 
Abstract: The Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution provides that the Congress shall have the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. The plain meaning of this language might indicate a limited power to regulate commercial trade between persons in one state and persons outside of that state. However, the Commerce Clause has never been construed quite so narrowly. Rather, the clause, along with the economy of the United States, has grown and become more complex. In addition, when Congress began to address national social problems, the Commerce Clause was often cited as the constitutional basis for such legislation. As a result, the Commerce Clause has become the constitutional basis for a significant portion of the laws passed by the Congress over the last fifty years, and it currently represents one of the broadest bases for the exercise of congressional powers. An examination of the United States Code shows that over 700 statutory provisions, covering a range of issues, explicitly refer to either "interstate" or "foreign" commerce. Over the last decade, however, the Supreme Court in United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison has brought into question the breadth of the Commerce Clause. While these cases have resulted in the overturning of a few federal laws, their overall effect has so far been relatively modest in scope. A case currently before the Supreme Court, however, Ashcroft v. Raich, could portend a more significant effect on current federal law.
Pages: 20
Date: June 17, 2005