Article I, Section 7, Clause 1
- James Madison, no supporter of the clause at the Convention, gave it a generous interpretation in The Federalist No. 58: "The House of Representatives cannot only refuse, but they alone can propose the supplies requisite for the support of the government....This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect, every just and salutary measure."As it turned out, the Origination Clause has had little effect. For one thing, many revenue bills have their intellectual genesis in the Treasury Department, not in Congress. Furthermore, Elbridge Gerry's fears were well founded: the Senate's power to amend is generally understood in practice to be so broad that the Senate can replace the entire text of a bill that technically originates in the House.
The understanding that the clause is a nullity reflects practice, however, not doctrine. In its most recent Origination Clause case, United States v. Munoz-Flores (1990), a divided Supreme Court rejected the argument that origination issues are nonjusticiable political questions. The Court held that a plaintiff with standing may pursue a claim that a revenue statute improperly originated in the Senate. In Munoz-Flores, however, the Court did not reach the larger issues, concluding that a bill to impose a user's fee, where raising revenue was a secondary concern, was not a "bill for raising revenue." The larger issues await another case where a taxpayer subject to an unquestioned revenue statute can raise serious questions about the statute's origin.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
Article I, Section 9, Clause 7
- The Appropriations Clause is the cornerstone of Congress's "power of the purse." It assigns to Congress the role of final arbiter of the use of public funds. The source of Congress's power to spend derives from Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. The Appropriations Clause provides Congress with a mechanism to control or to limit spending by the federal government. The Framers chose the particular language of limitation, not authorization, for the first part of the clause and placed it in Section 9 of Article I, along with other restrictions on governmental actions to limit, most notably, executive action.
The Virginia Plan offered at the opening of the Constitutional Convention did not contain an appropriations clause, although the plan did refer, albeit indirectly, to Congress's authority under the Articles of Confederation to appropriate public funds. The Appropriations Clause first appeared at the Convention as part of a proposed division of authority between the House and the Senate. A part of that proposal declared that all bills raising or appropriating money—"money bills"—were to originate in the House, and were not subject to alteration or amendment in the Senate. Further, no money could be drawn from the "public Treasury, but in pursuance of appropriations to be originated in the House of Representatives." The Convention rejected both the provision vesting exclusive control of money bills in the House of Representatives (resolved in Article I, Section 7, Clause 2) and the associated appropriations clause. Late in the Convention, the Committee of Eleven, appointed to consider unresolved parts of the Constitution, offered a compromise to permit the Senate to amend or concur in amendments of money bills, provided that "no Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." The Convention incorporated the proposal, resulting, with only minor changes made by the Committee of Style and Arrangement, in the final language of the first part of the Appropriations Clause.
In The Federalist No. 58, James Madison described the centrality of the power of the purse's role in the growth of representative government and its particular importance in the Constitution's governmental structure:
The House of Representatives cannot only refuse, but they alone can propose the supplies requisite for the support of the government. They, in a word, hold the purse—that powerful instrument by which we behold, in the history of the British Constitution, an infant and humble representation of the people gradually enlarging the sphere of its activity and importance, and finally reducing, as far as it seems to have wished, all the overgrown prerogatives of the other branches of government. This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.
So why are we where we are at today?
The Thomas.gov legislative website for the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations committee for the 2014 Fiscal Year lists the legislation for the various budget appropriations, including dates that the House passed the legislation and action, if any, taken by the U.S. Senate at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app14.html
There are twelve areas of appropriation listed at the above link. Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science, Defense, Energy & Water, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Interior & Environment, Labor/HHS/Education, Legislative Branch, Military/Veterans, State/Foreign Operations, and Transportation/HUD.
Of the twelve areas, the House did not pass an appropriations bill for Interior & Environoment, or for Labor/HHS/Education.
Of the remaining ten areas, the Full House of Representatives passed four bills and sent them on to the U.S. Senate: Defense, Energy & Water, Homeland Security, and Military/Veterans.
The Defense Appropriations Bill - Latest Major Action: 8/1/2013 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 163. No Further Action.
The Energy & Water Appropriations Bill - never made it out of Senate Committee.
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 Latest Major Action: 7/18/2013 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 140. No Further Action.
The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014 - Latest Major Action: 6/27/2013 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 102. No Further Action.
Of the twelve appropriation areas, the Senate had their version of the appropriation bill in nine areas:Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science, Defense, Energy & Water, Financial Services, Labor/HHS/Education, Legislative Branch, State/Foreign Operations, and Transportation/HUD. However, note the table, at the link provided above, NOT ONE SENATE BILL even reached the Senate Floor for a Vote!
Who's not doing their job? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
