A federal statute imposes comprehensive environmental standards on the manufacturing industry nationwide. The statute includes a provision that expressly preempts any state or local law that sets different standards. A state with its own stricter environmental laws challenges the federal statute's validity. Which constitutional principle provides the strongest basis for upholding the federal law?
The Tenth Amendment reserves to the states all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government.
The Supremacy Clause, by itself, grants Congress the power to legislate in any area of national concern.
The President's authority as chief executive includes ensuring uniform application of laws across states.
Congress has the power to regulate activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce.
The correct answer is that Congress has the power to regulate activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. This authority is derived from the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) of the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has broadly interpreted this power to allow Congress to regulate nationwide economic activities, including manufacturing, due to their cumulative effect on the national economy. When Congress acts within this power and expressly preempts state law, the federal statute is supreme under the Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2). The Tenth Amendment does not serve as a bar to a valid exercise of Congress's enumerated powers. The Supremacy Clause itself is not an independent grant of legislative power; it only establishes the hierarchy of laws once Congress has acted pursuant to an enumerated power like the Commerce Clause.
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