General Welfare Clause doctrine
E16180
The General Welfare Clause doctrine is a constitutional interpretation that grants Congress broad authority to tax and spend in pursuit of national objectives deemed to promote the general welfare of the United States.
Aliases (2)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
constitutional doctrine
→
legal doctrine → |
| allowsCongressTo |
spend for national objectives deemed to promote the general welfare
→
|
| appliesTo |
United States Constitution
→
|
| associatedWith |
Hamiltonian view of the General Welfare Clause
→
|
| basedOn |
General Welfare Clause
→
Spending Clause → Taxing and Spending Clause → |
| characterizedAs |
broad construction of congressional spending power
→
|
| clarifiedIn |
Helvering v. Davis (1937)
→
South Dakota v. Dole (1987) → United States v. Butler (1936) → |
| condition |
spending must be for the general welfare of the United States
→
|
| constitutionalLimit |
conditions on federal funds must be related to the federal interest in the program
→
conditions on federal grants may not be coercive → spending must not violate other constitutional provisions → spending must serve national, not purely local, interests → |
| contrastedWith |
Madisonian view of the General Welfare Clause
→
|
| grantsPowerTo |
United States Congress
→
|
| historicallyAssociatedWith |
Alexander Hamilton
→
|
| historicallyOpposedBy |
James Madison
→
|
| implicationForFederalism |
expands federal influence over state policy through conditional spending
→
|
| interpretedBy |
Supreme Court of the United States
→
|
| interpretsTerm |
general welfare
→
|
| jurisdiction |
federal constitutional law of the United States
→
|
| locatedInTextOf |
Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution
→
|
| permits |
spending for objectives not otherwise enumerated in Article I, Section 8
→
|
| purpose |
to authorize Congress to tax and spend for the general welfare of the United States
→
|
| relatedConcept |
Spending Power Doctrine
→
Taxing Power Doctrine → conditional spending → fiscal federalism → |
| relatesTo |
federal spending power
→
federal taxing power → |
| significantCase |
Helvering v. Davis
→
South Dakota v. Dole → Steward Machine Co. v. Davis → United States v. Butler → |
| supports |
broad federal role in economic regulation through spending
→
federal redistribution of resources through taxation and spending → |
| supportsConstitutionalityOf |
Medicare and Medicaid funding structures
→
Social Security Act → federal highway funding programs → |
| timePeriodOfMajorDevelopment |
New Deal era
→
|
| usedToJustify |
conditional federal grants to states
→
federal grant-in-aid programs → federal social welfare programs → |
| viewOnEnumeratedPowers |
spending power is not limited to the other enumerated powers
→
|
Referenced by (4)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
General Welfare Clause doctrine
("Hamiltonian view of the General Welfare Clause")
→
|
associatedWith |
|
General Welfare Clause doctrine
("General Welfare Clause")
→
|
basedOn |
|
Article I of the United States Constitution
("General Welfare Clause")
→
|
containsClause |
|
Taxing and Spending Clause
→
|
relatedTo |