Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act

This bill, concerning the reauthorization of a health-related measure, falls within the enumerated powers of Congress under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1, which grants Congress the power to 'provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.' The regulation of public health, particularly the prevention of disease through tick-borne illness surveillance and control, is a legitimate object of the general welfare. Additionally, the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) empowers Congress to enact laws that are appropriate to carry out its enumerated p…

The proposed act, being a reauthorization of federal spending on tick-borne disease research and prevention, must be examined under the strict limits of enumerated powers. The Constitution grants Congress no general police power over public health; such authority resides with the states and the people under the Tenth Amendment. However, if this act is narrowly confined to matters of interstate commerce—such as regulating ticks that cross state lines or funding research that directly facilitates such commerce—it may pass constitutional muster. Yet, any provision that extends federal control ove…

The proposed legislation, if it merely reauthorizes existing federal programs for tick-borne disease research and prevention, may be consistent with the enumerated powers of Congress, particularly the power to provide for the general welfare and to regulate interstate commerce, as such diseases do not respect state boundaries and their control may require national coordination. However, the Constitution grants Congress only limited and enumerated powers, and any expansion of federal authority beyond those bounds would be an encroachment upon the reserved powers of the states. Therefore, the co…

This bill, concerning the reauthorization of tick-related health measures, must be examined under the principles of enumerated powers and necessary and proper means. The Constitution grants Congress power to regulate interstate commerce (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) and to make all laws necessary and proper for executing that power (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18). If the tick-borne disease measures directly affect interstate commerce—such as by preventing the spread of disease across state lines or regulating the sale of related products—then Congress may act, as held in Gibbons v. Ogden …