Congress in the Mouth of a Lawyer

<span> <p><span>It is common to loosely speak of “Congress” as making federal law—or what the Constitution refers to as the “supreme Law of the Land.”&nbsp; But what, precisely, do we mean when we speak of “Congress” as lawmaker?&nbsp; One might be tempted to answer that those references to “Congress” refer to the House and Senate alone.&nbsp; And in many other contexts, that simple definition is (of course) legally accurate.&nbsp; But when we think more carefully about references to “Congress” making law, it becomes clear that the simple definition will not do.&nbsp; That is because the Constitution does not permit the House and Senate to make law alone—those two chambers must instead make law in concert with a third actor: the President.&nbsp; The situation is thus reminiscent of that in England, where the constitutional theorist A.V. Dicey explained that “Parliament means, in the mouth of a lawyer . . . the King, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span>This Article argues that, like in England where the supreme law of the land is made by a legally precise understanding of “Parliament” that includes the King, in America the supreme law of the land is made by a legally precise understanding of “Congress” that includes the President.&nbsp; Of course, in formal terms, the President is not actually a member of Congress (although the Vice President is).&nbsp; But informal references to “Congress” as lawmaker are not themselves intended to be legally precise.&nbsp; Instead, those references are best understood as implicit references to a broader, multi-branch “Congress” that includes the President.&nbsp; This Article elucidates those implicit references to the multi-branch “Congress” and explains why failing to make those implicit references explicit has led to substantial problems in the field of statutory interpretation.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span><b>Suggested Citation</b>: Chad Squitieri, <i>Congress in the Mouth of a Lawyer</i>, 78 Ala. L. Rev. (forthcoming)</span></p></span>