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Is The Solomon Amendment F.A.I.R.: Some Thoughts On Congress's Power To Impose This Condition On Federal Spending, John Eastman

John C. Eastman

In this article, I explore the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, by which Congress required that recipients of federal grants to institutions of higher education permit the military to conduct job interviews on campus despite the institution's objection to the military's ban on homosexuality in the military. I first consider the constitutionality of the spending program on which the Solomon Amendment imposed conditions, recognizing that spending for education is not part of the enumerated powers of Congress. I then consider Congress's power to raise and support armies, and concludes that a plausible, originalist argument can be made that federal support …