Congressional Responses to the Rehnquist Court's Federalism Decisions

Abstract

Scholars who have sought to assess the consequences of the Rehnquist Court's federalism decisions have identified various means by which Congress can overcome the effects of these rulings, but there have been few efforts to investigate the degree to which Congress has employed these means. This study finds that Congress has enjoyed limited success in responding to the Court's rulings. Significantly, though, the failure to overcome the effects of these decisions is rarely attributable to the fact that the Court's constitutional doctrines have erected insurmountable barriers to congressional action. Rather, the Court's decisions have forced congressional supporters of the invalidated statutory provisions to build and hold political coalitions in support of the repassage of these laws, and this has frequently proved to be difficult to accomplish, whether due to a lack of enthusiasm for such efforts, conflicts with other policy goals, or opposition from other groups. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.