Hong Kong Equal Treatment Act

This bill purports to legislate foreign policy and impose sanctions as a matter of federal statute, but its object — treating Hong Kong differentially from China — encroaches upon the President's plenary authority as the sole organ of the nation in foreign relations. The Constitution vests the executive power in a President (Article II, Section 1, Clause 1), and the Federalist No. 75 explains that the transaction of foreign affairs requires energy, secrecy, and dispatch — qualities inherent in a single executive, not in legislative micromanagement. While Congress may regulate foreign commerce …

The Constitution vests in Congress the power to regulate foreign commerce and to define and punish offenses against the law of nations (Article I, Section 8, Clauses 3 and 10). However, the Tenth Amendment reserves to the States and the people all powers not delegated to the United States. A federal law that imposes sanctions on foreign persons for actions abroad, without a clear nexus to U.S. commerce or the law of nations, may exceed the enumerated powers. Moreover, the Bill of Rights—particularly the First Amendment's protection of speech and association—must be respected; the law must not …

The Constitution vests in Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and to define and punish offenses against the law of nations (Article I, Section 8, Clauses 3 and 10). However, the imposition of sanctions and differential treatment of a foreign territory touches upon the President's authority as the sole organ of the nation in its external relations, as derived from the executive power (Article II, Section 1) and the power to receive ambassadors (Article II, Section 3). The bill's constitutionality depends on whether it respects the separation of powers by not encroaching…

The Constitution vests in Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and to define and punish offenses against the law of nations (Article I, Section 8, Clauses 3 and 10). A statute that imposes sanctions for the purpose of protecting democracy and human rights may be a legitimate exercise of Congress's foreign commerce and foreign affairs powers, provided it does not exceed the scope of the necessary and proper clause. However, the Constitution does not grant Congress a general police power over the internal affairs of foreign sovereigns; the law must be tied to a permissibl…