PROTECT Taiwan Act

Enumerated powers · passes

The federal government has constitutional authority over foreign relations and foreign commerce. Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 grants Congress power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and the Necessary and Proper Clause in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 allows Congress to enact laws to carry into execution the powers of the federal government. Directing the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the SEC to advance a foreign-policy objective in international financial institutions is a valid exercise of federal authority over foreign affairs.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not abridge speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, the right to keep and bear arms, protections against unreasonable searches or seizures, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, trial rights, cruel or unusual punishment, or any other provision of the first ten amendments. It is directed at foreign states and international organizations, not at the rights of American persons. The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Amendments are not implicated.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict what any individual can do with their own person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It imposes no mandates or prohibitions on private citizens. It directs federal agencies to take diplomatic and regulatory steps in international organizations with respect to China's participation. No individual is required to act or refrain from acting, and no individual liberty is burdened without justification.

Decentralization · passes

International financial policy regarding China and Taiwan is inherently a matter of national foreign policy. An individual, family, local community, or individual state cannot plausibly handle the exclusion of China from the Group of Twenty, the Bank for International Settlements, the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, or the International Organization of Securities Commissions. Federal-level decision-making is the minimum necessary level of government for this action, and the bill does not improperly consolidate power upward beyond what is required.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property; it does not impose criminal penalties; and it does not take private property for public use without just compensation. The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and Takings Clause are not implicated. The bill operates through federal agency action in the international sphere, and the President retains a waiver authority in the national interest.