The Constitution provides that "all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills."

This provision has given rise to frequent controversies between the two Houses of Congress, but has but seldom been passed upon by the courts. No formal definition of a revenue measure has been given by the Supreme Court, but in Twin City National Bank v. Nebeker4 the court, in effect, held that a bill, the primary purpose of which is not the raising of revenue, is not a measure that must originate in the House, even though, incidentally, a revenue will be derived by the United States from its execution.

The House has, upon a number of occasions,5 refused to agrco to or consider senatorial amendments to revenue measures upon the ground that the amendments have enlarged the scope or changed the character of the measure as originated in the House. The views held by the House and the Senate, respectively, regarding what, in specific instances, should properly be termed revenue measures and what proper amendments thereto, do not need to be stated in this treatise. They are set out at length in Mr. Hinds' treatise.6 Especially the House has denied, and the Senate has insisted upon, its right to originate measures which repeal a law or portion of a law imposing taxes, duties, imposts or excises.

4167 U. S. 196; 17 Sup. Ct. Rep. 766; 42 L. ed. 134.

5 See Hinds, Precedents of the House of Representatives, Chapter XLVII (Prohibitions Laid Upon The States. 477. Prohibitions Upon The States).