ReportScams.gov Act

The establishment of a Scams Steering Committee, Action Plan, and website falls within the federal power to regulate interstate commerce, as fraudulent schemes frequently cross state lines and involve interstate communications. The General Welfare Clause also supports federal action to protect citizens from financial harm. While the police power is reserved to the states, this bill does not intrude upon traditional state functions but rather supplements them with a coordinated federal response.

This bill establishes a federal steering committee, action plan, and website for scams prevention, yet the Constitution grants no general police power to the United States. Such matters of consumer protection and public information are reserved to the states or the people under the Tenth Amendment. The enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8 do not include a general authority to create federal goals or committees for fraud prevention; any such action must be tied to a specific delegated power, such as regulating interstate commerce, but this bill lacks that nexus. To permit this would expand…

This bill creates new federal mechanisms—a priority goal, steering committee, action plan, and website—to combat scams. Under the Constitution, Congress may legislate to regulate interstate commerce (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) and provide for the general welfare (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1), provided such measures are within the enumerated powers and necessary and proper (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18). Scams that cross state lines implicate interstate commerce, so a federal role may be legitimate. However, the bill must not exceed the bounds of limited, enumerated powers by encroac…

This bill is a valid exercise of Congress's power under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 to provide for the general welfare, and under the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) to carry into execution the powers vested in the Federal Government. The establishment of a steering committee, action plan, and website to disseminate information and prevent scams falls within the scope of federal authority to regulate interstate commerce and protect the public from fraudulent schemes that affect the national economy. As held in McCulloch v. Maryland, the Constitution grants impl…