Foundations of American Democracy

An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.

How far does Congress's Article I taxing-and-spending power reach when exercised through budget reconciliation — a process that needs only 51 Senate votes but is limited by the Byrd Rule to budgetary provisions?

Laken Riley Act

Two questions: does mandatory federal detention of noncitizens arrested for (not convicted of) theft-related crimes satisfy Fifth Amendment due process — and can Congress hand states standing to sue the federal government over immigration enforcement decisions, inverting the usual rule that immigration is exclusively federal?

SAVE Act

Under the Elections Clause, can Congress require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections — effectively reversing Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council (2013), where the Court read the existing National Voter Registration Act to preempt exactly such a state requirement?

Providing congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Advanced Clean Cars II; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision".

Layered: (1) federalism — the Clean Air Act has let California set stricter vehicle rules since 1967, which a dozen states adopt, making Sacramento a de facto national regulator; (2) separation of powers — Congress used the Congressional Review Act on a waiver that GAO and the Senate parliamentarian said was not a 'rule,' expanding the CRA's kill-switch beyond its understood limits.

21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

Article I, Section 7 in live action: the President refused to sign, demanding Congress first pass an unrelated voter-ID bill — and the Constitution called the bluff. Ten days after presentment (June 29), with Congress in session, the bill became Public Law 119-101 at midnight July 11, and the official record reads 'Sent to Archivist of the United States unsigned.' Had Congress been adjourned, the same inaction would have been a pocket veto. Underneath sits a Unit 1 question: federal law can fund and nudge housing supply, but the binding constraint — local zoning — belongs to a level of government Congress cannot commandeer.

Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025

If McDonald v. Chicago makes armed self-defense a fundamental right nationwide, may Congress require every state to honor every other state's concealed-carry permits — including permitless-carry states' standards — inside New York City and Los Angeles? And under which power? The commerce rationale must survive the very limits United States v. Lopez imposed on federal gun legislation, producing a rare alignment where each coalition argues the other side's usual federalism position.