Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026

Enumerated powers · passes

Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 grants Congress the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution its enumerated powers. Funding the legislative branch is a necessary incident of the legislative power vested in Congress by Article I, Section 1. The bill appropriates funds for the Senate and joint legislative branch agencies, all of which support Congress's constitutional functions.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not regulate speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, searches, seizures, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, or cruel and unusual punishment. It is a routine appropriations measure that imposes no restrictions on the rights protected by the first ten amendments.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict the person, property, speech, labor, or belief of any individual. It merely allocates funds for the operation of the legislative branch. No individual is compelled to act or refrain from acting, and no property is taken or regulated.

Decentralization · passes

The bill funds the federal legislative branch, a function that inherently requires federal action. An individual, local community, or state cannot fund the United States Congress. The action does not consolidate decision-making upward; it is the federal government exercising its own constitutional authority.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, nor does it take private property for public use. It imposes no penalties, no adjudicative procedures, and no confiscations. It is a straightforward appropriations bill that does not implicate the Due Process or Takings Clauses of the Fifth Amendment.