Honoring and commending the 100th anniversary of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

This resolution is a ceremonial expression of honor and commendation, not a law with binding effect. It falls within the inherent authority of each House to manage its own proceedings and to express its sentiments. Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 grants each House the power to determine the rules of its proceedings, which includes the passage of non-binding resolutions. Moreover, the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) implies that Congress may adopt such resolutions as incidental to its legislative functions and the general welfare. There is no encroachment on any oth…

The Constitution grants Congress only those powers enumerated in Article I, Section 8. Nowhere does it authorize the issuance of honorary resolutions for private associations. Such an act exceeds the limited sphere of federal authority and encroaches upon powers reserved to the states and the people. Even a ceremonial commendation, however well-intentioned, sets a dangerous precedent for federal involvement in matters not delegated by the compact.

The Constitution vests Congress with only those powers enumerated in Article I, Section 8, and reserves all other powers to the States or the people under the Tenth Amendment. A resolution that merely honors and commends a private association does not execute any enumerated power, nor is it necessary and proper to carrying into execution any such power. Such a ceremonial act, while perhaps well-intentioned, falls outside the limited sphere of federal authority. The power to issue official commendations is not among the few and defined powers delegated to the United States, as I argued in Feder…

The Constitution vests in Congress the authority to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution its enumerated powers. This bill, a resolution of commendation, does not exceed that authority; it is a symbolic expression of esteem, not a law imposing a burden or regulating conduct. The power to honor and commend is inherent in the legislative function, akin to the authority to regulate its own proceedings and express the sense of the House. No provision of the Constitution prohibits such a resolution, and the principles of McCulloch v. Maryland affirm that Cong…