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30.6

Preamble for All Laws

Summary:

Every law shall contain a declaration of purpose, a statement of the constitutional power relied on, and other statements helpful to citizens.

Preamble for All Laws: Proposed Language

Congress shall have no power to pass any Bill unless it sets forth at the beginning thereof a declaration of the purpose thereof and the constitutional power under which it is brought, a statement that the Bill is needed for the public interest, a statement that the government can afford the Bill, a statement that the government can administer the Bill in a way people can respect, a statement of its impact on the freedoms of citizens, and a statement of its possible unintended consequences.

Commentary:

Every Bill passed by Congress that becomes Law implicitly contains a representation by Congress that it has the constitutional power to make the Law, that the Law is in the best interests of the United States, that the United States can afford the Law, that the Law has a purpose and that the range of unintended consequences are dominated by the contemplated benefits. 

Congress should be made to include in every Bill a declaration stating expressly what is obviously implied. Each of these declarations would allow competing political candidates to contrast their positions on specific legislation with the position of the incumbent. Further, an elected person who consistently supports measures that turn out to have been ill advised becomes a questionable leader despite the genuineness of his or her decisions.

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