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Article I, Section 8, Clause 18: [Th e Congress shall have Power . . .] To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution th e foregoing Powers, and all o th er Powers vested by th is Constitution in th e Government of th e United States, or in any Department or Officer th ereof.
Maryland, Chief Justice Marshall declared that the power conferred by the Necessary and Proper Clause 7 Footnote U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl.18. embraces all legislative means which are appropriate to carry out the powers provided expressly by the Constitution. 8 Footnote McCulloch, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) at 421.
This Necessary and Proper Clause gives Congress discretion over the means it chooses to execute its enumerated powers, so long as the goal is legitimate and the means appropriate. 1 5 Footnote United States v. Kebodeaux, 570 U.S. 3 8 7, 394 (20 1 3); McCulloch v. Maryland, 1 7 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 3 1 6, 42 1 (1 8 1 9).
); see generally John Mikhail, The Necessary and Proper Clauses, 1 02 Geo. L.J. 1 045, 1 059 & n.47 (20 1 4) ([The Framers] referred to the last clause of Article I, Section 8 as the ‘Sweeping Clause.’). The terms Elastic Clause, Basket Clause, and Coefficient Clause are also occasionally used to refer to this provision.
Elastic Clause. After providing Congress with a long list of specific powers, Article I, Section 8 granted Congress authority to make all laws that are “necessary and proper” to implement those powers. Because this broad phrase covers such an extensive sweep of activities, it has been called the “elastic clause.”. Donald Ritchie, Our ...
); see generally John Mikhail, The Necessary and Proper Clauses, 1 0 2 Geo. L.J. 1 045, 1 059 & n.47 (2 0 1 4) ([The Framers] referred to the last clause of Article I, Section 8 as the ‘Sweeping Clause.’). The terms Elastic Clause, Basket Clause, and Coefficient Clause are also occasionally used to refer to this provision.
Elastic clause definition: a statement in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers..
