Cite as: 529 U. S. 598 (2000)
Breyer, J., dissenting
also Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U. S. 452, 460-461 (1991) (insisting upon a "plain statement" of congressional intent when Congress legislates "in areas traditionally regulated by the States"); cf. Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong, 426 U. S. 88, 103- 105, 114-117 (1976); Fullilove v. Klutznick, 448 U. S. 448, 548-554 (1980) (Stevens, J., dissenting).
Commentators also have suggested that the thoroughness of legislative procedures—e. g., whether Congress took a "hard look"—might sometimes make a determinative difference in a Commerce Clause case, say, when Congress legislates in an area of traditional state regulation. See, e. g., Jackson, Federalism and the Uses and Limits of Law: Printz and Principle?, 111 Harv. L. Rev. 2180, 2231-2245 (1998); Gardbaum, Rethinking Constitutional Federalism, 74 Texas L. Rev. 795, 812-828, 830-832 (1996); Lessig, Translating Federalism: United States v. Lopez, 1995 S. Ct. Rev. 125, 194-214 (1995); see also Treaty Establishing the European Community Art. 5; Bermann, Taking Subsidiarity Seriously: Federalism in the European Community and the United States, 94 Colum. L. Rev. 331, 378-403 (1994) (arguing for similar limitation in respect to somewhat analogous principle of subsidiarity for European Community); Gardbaum, supra, at 833-837 (applying subsidiarity principles to American federalism). Of course, any judicial insistence that Congress follow particular procedures might itself intrude upon congressional prerogatives and embody difficult definitional problems. But the intrusion, problems, and consequences all would seem less serious than those embodied in the majority's approach. See supra, at 656-659.
I continue to agree with Justice Souter that the Court's traditional "rational basis" approach is sufficient. Ante, at 628 (dissenting opinion); see also Lopez, 514 U. S., at 603-615 (Souter, J., dissenting); id., at 615-631 (Breyer, J., dissenting). But I recognize that the law in this area is unstable and that time and experience may demonstrate both the unworkability of the majority's rules and the superiority
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