Amid the current debate over impeachment concerning the President’s phone call and Joe Biden’s suspicious dealings in Ukraine, an underlying issue has been ignored in the havoc. While discussing corruption and scandal, our attention should be drawn to a serious constitutional offence.
In most political discussions concerning money changing hands, America has ignored whether government has the constitutional authority to give financial aid to Ukraine or other foreign powers to begin with. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, total obligations toward other nations add up to $49 billion – with obligations defined as “binding agreements that will result in outlays (disbursements), immediately or in the future.”
While America’s news outlets are trigger happy when they sniff a scandal in the air, they seem content to keep citizens oblivious to the billions of the dollars taxed from them that go abroad. Were taxpayers to be reminded as often of the enormous exports of their wages as they are of the political game of hearsay, a true mountain of outrage might be provoked – especially if those actions violated the constitution.
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution reads, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;” and then it continues to enumerate specific powers, such as “To borrow Money on the credit of the United States” and “To establish Post Offices and post Roads.”
Of every power listed in the section 8, though, none of them mention giving money to other nations, but perhaps one might look at section 8 and argue that Congress’ power includes but is not limited to the powers listed.
James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, responded to the objection that the powers granted are not specific 231 years ago. He wrote in Federalist 41, “But what color can the objection have [that the phrase “general welfare” is not specified by particulars], when a specification of the objects alluded to by these general terms immediately follows and is not even separated by a longer pause than a semicolon? … Nothing is more natural nor common than first to use a general phrase, and then to explain and qualify it by a recital of particulars…”
Madison’s statement clarifies that Congress’ jurisdiction is indeed specified, and by inference, limited to the list powers listed in Article I, section 8 – thereby precluding the power to tax citizens for other nations.
While I believe that in the aftermath of the current hot topic, America will accept her president to be cleared even as he was with Mueller’s investigation, Americans should focus on larger issues – ones that concern them far more. As we do concentrate on the issues that bear more influence on us, we will come to see greater reward of our labors in time.
