Reviving the Power of the Purse: Appropriations Clause Litigation and National Security Law

The rise of the modern national security state has been accompanied by a vast expansion of executive power. Congress's strongest check against unilateral presidential action - the power of the purse - has so far been ineffective in combating this constitutional imbalance. But developments in legislative standing doctrine may make it possible for congressional plaintiffs to challenge executive violations of the Appropriations Clause. Those evolutions could enable Congress to use the Appropriations Clause to reassert its role in national security decision making and restore the constitutional balance the Framers crafted.