Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5856) "to prohibit the use of funds used in contravention of section 7 of title 1, United States Code." Section 7 of title 1 of the U.S. Code is better known as the Defense of Marriage Act. When Rep. King offered his amendment on the floor of the House, he explained: "What we've seen since the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act is an effort on the part of the executive branch to undermine, I believe, marriage between one man and one woman within our military ranks...."
The Constitution grants "all legislative powers" exclusively to Congress in Article I, Section 1 and requires the president to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" in Article II, Section 3.
