TRANS Government Research Act

The proposed legislation falls squarely within Congress's constitutional authority over the purse. Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 vests Congress with the power to lay and collect taxes to 'provide for the common Defence and general Welfare,' and Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 prohibits drawing money from the Treasury except by appropriations made by law. These provisions together grant Congress broad discretion to attach conditions—including prohibitions—to the use of federal funds for research. The bill does not commandeer state governments, restrict private speech, or otherwise exceed the en…

The power of Congress to appropriate funds is a necessary attribute of the federal government, yet it must be exercised in strict conformity with the limitations imposed by the Constitution. While the spending clause grants Congress discretion over the use of federal monies, this discretion cannot be employed to abridge the fundamental liberties secured by the Bill of Rights. The proposed prohibition on funding research into gender-related medical treatment appears to target a specific category of inquiry, which may constitute a content-based restriction on the freedom of speech and the press—…

The bill proposes a restriction on the use of federal funds for a specific category of research. Under the Constitution, Congress possesses the power of the purse, including the authority to determine the objects of federal expenditure. The Spending Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) grants Congress the power to lay and collect taxes to provide for the common defense and general welfare, which necessarily includes the discretion to withhold funds from particular activities. This discretion is not unbounded, but the prohibition at issue does not infringe upon any enumerated right or exceed…

The Constitution vests in Congress the power to lay and collect taxes for the general welfare, and to make all laws necessary and proper for executing that power. The bill in question merely withholds federal funds from a particular class of research. It does not command any person to act or refrain from acting; it simply declines to subsidize certain inquiries. Under the reasoning of McCulloch v. Maryland, Congress possesses broad discretion in selecting the means by which it exercises its enumerated powers, including the power of the purse. The decision to fund or not fund research is a legi…