Chapter 6: Development of
Congressional Powers
Section 1:
Constitutional Powers
Section 2:
Investigations &
Oversight
Section 3: Congress &
the President
Section 1: Constitutional
Powers
 The powers of Congress
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I. Constitutional
Provisions
A. The “necessary and
proper” clause has been
used to expand the
power of Congress
The Supreme Court has
issued conflicting rulings
on the “elastic” clause
McCullcoch v. Maryland
case upholds the
doctrine of “implied
powers” (see p. 157)
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are limited by
The Bill of Rights
The Constitution
(expressed, implied &
inherent powers)
Congress can’t
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Suspend the writ of
habeas corpus (let a court
decide if someone has
been legally detained)
Pass bills of attainder (no
trial)
Pass ex post facto laws
(make something illegal
after the fact)
II: Legislative Powers
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A The power to levy
taxes and appropriate
money is one of
Congress’ most
important powers (why?)
Congress has the power
to borrow money, coin
money, make laws
regarding bankruptcy.
Another way Congress
has the power to tax and
spend is that it has “the
power of the purse” (it
controls the budget)
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And, all bills regarding taxes
(revenue bills) must start in
the House. They cannot be
first introduced in the
Senate. Why would this
have been important to the
Framers?
Since the Constitution
doesn’t specify how
appropriations laws (laws
about spending money)
must be passed, Congress
has used this ability to
strengthen its power over
time (mostly through
mandates)
II: Legislative Powers continued
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The Commerce powerCongress has the power to 
regulate interstate
commerce.
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The Supreme Court upheld
this power in the case
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Today, the federal
government has the right to
regulate just about every
type of business because
virtually everyone in
business engages in
interstate commerce in some
Heart of Atlanta Motel v.
United States (1964)
Katzenback v. McClung
(1964)
These cases show that the
Court was willing to grant
the federal government the
power to oversee business
regarding issues that
weren’t purely economic.
Both of these cases involve
enforcement of civil rights
laws through the power to
regulate interstate
commerce.
I: Legislative Powers continued
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Foreign Policy Powers-Congress shares these with
the President. For example,
Congress has only declared
war 5 times, while the
President has used military
force in other nations more
than 200 times.
There was no official
declaration of war for either
Korea or Vietnam.
The War Powers Act limits
how long the President can
commit troops (60 days) and
specifies that he must let
Congress know within 48
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Congress makes the rules
for the naturalization
process
Congress regulates foreign
commerce
Congress has the power to
approve treaties, to declare
war and to create and
maintain the armed forces.
Congress has the right to
add new states or territories
to the Union.
III: Nonlegislative Powers
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A.
What else can Congress do
besides pass bills?
The Power to Choose a
President
1. If there is no clear winner in the
electoral college, the House of
Representatives chooses the
president from among the top 3
candidates (when has this
happened in history?
in 1800 when Thomas
Jefferson was chosen over
Aaron Burr and in 1824 when
John Quincy Adams was
chosen over Andrew Jackson)
2. The Senate would choose
the VP if there were a tie in
the electoral college
(would this happen today?)
The 20th and 25th
amendments have given
Congress the authority to
make decisions in the
event of the death or
incapacity of the executive.
III: Nonlegislative Powers
continued
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B. The Removal Power
Congress has the right to
remove any federal
official from office
The House has the
power of impeachment
(to formally accuse of a
crime worthy of removal
of office)
The Senate acts as the
jury to decide if the
President is guilty. A 2/3
vote is needed to convict
and remove from office.
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Presidents Clinton and
Andrew Johnson were
impeached by the House
but then acquitted (found
not guilty) by the Senate
of “high crimes and
misdemeanors”
Nixon would have been
impeached most likely
convicted and removed
from office had he not
resigned in 1974.
Nonlegislative Powers
continued
The Confirmation
Power
The Senate has the power
to confirm (approve)
Presidential
nominations. It looks at
hundreds (mostly for
promotion of military
officials and
appointment of federal
judges)
C.
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The Senate looks much
more closely at
nominees for the
Supreme Court and
holds special
confirmation hearings
(remember the Executive
Calendar?). The Senate
rejects about 20 percent
of Presidential Supreme
Court nominees.
Nonlegislative Powers
continued
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D. the Ratification Power
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The Senate has the power
to ratify treaties between
the U.S. and other
countries. This requires a
2/3 majority vote of
members of the Senate.
If the President thought it
likely that the Senate
would not approve a
treaty, s/he could negotiate
an executive agreement,
which does not require
Senate approval.
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E. The Amendment
Power
The Senate can propose
an amendment and so can
the state legislatures.
 An amendment may be
proposed by a 2/3 vote of
both houses.
The state convention method
has not been used in U.S.
history. All 27
amendments have started
in Congress. Why do you
think the Framers included
an alternative way to
propose an amendment?
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Section II: Investigations &
Oversight
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A. The Power to Investigate
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Standing committees or select
committees of Congress
investigate the conduct and ethics
of government officials and
members of Congress.
The investigation process usually
involves calling witnesses to testify
before committee members, often
under oath.
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Subpoena
Perjury
Contempt
immunity
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Witnesses now have the
same rights in committee
hearings as they would in
a court of law (Watkins v.
United States, 1957)
Most committee hearings
go unnoticed, but
sometimes the public
takes notice, such as the
Iran-Contra hearings or
the hearings about the
use of steroids in
professional sports.
II: Legislative Oversight
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The main purpose of
Congress having the
oversight function is to
see how well the
executive branch is
carrying out the laws
passed by Congress.
How does the oversight
function illustrate the
principle of checks and
balances?
Congress has formalized
its oversight power
through a number of laws:
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Legislative Reorganization
Acts of 1946 and 1970
Your book says it’s just not
possible for Congress to
monitor everything the
executive branch does, so it
carries out its oversight
function inconsistently. Do
you agree?
Why isn’t oversight a
majority priority for
legislators? “Where there is
publicity to be gained, there
is oversight to be had.”
How does Congress conduct
 Congress used to use the
oversight?
so-called legislative veto
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Congress can require the
executive agencies to
issue reports.
It can ask the support
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agencies to study an
issue
Congress has the “power
of the purse”, the
ultimate oversight tool!
Independent Counsel
(this power was allowed
to expire in 1999).
as a tool of oversight, but
it was declared
unconstitutional in INS v.
Chadha (1983)
The main problem in this
case was that Congress’
ability to cancel actions of
the executive agencies
put employees of the
executive branch under
the control of the
legislative, which violated
the principle of separation
of powers.
Section 3: Congress & the
 A President is not in office
President
as long as many
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A.
B.
I. Cooperation and Conflict
Congress members
represent interests that may
be more narrow than that of
the President, which can
lead to conflict over an issue.
Checks and balances may
cause conflicts between the
executive and legislative (the
President can veto,
Congress can override)
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members of Congress, so
they may not have the
same timetable on issues.
“Gridlock” is the term for a
stalemate between the
legislative and executive.
People think this is most
likely to happen when the
legislative and executive
are from opposing
parties. However,
gridlock is also a problem
when there is “unified
government (one party
controls both the
legislative and executive)
II: The Struggle for Power
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A. The balance of power has
shifted back and forth
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between the President and
Congress in American history.
For example, sometimes
Congress has given the
President emergency powers
and then later wanted to take
those powers away.
Consider the current debate
over what Congress thought it
told the President versus how
he has interpreted his ability
to combat terror.
One historical example is
Congress vs. the
president on the budget
issue.
The Congressional
Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 set up
permanent budget
committees and created
the CBO, along with
limiting the president’s
power to impound funds.
(Impoundment is when a
president refuses to
spend money Congress
has authorized in the
budget.)
II: The Struggle for Power
continued
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In 1996, Congress
authorized the line-item
veto for the president,
giving him permission to
veto specific spending
items in appropriations
bills. The intent was to
help curb “pork barrel”
legislation and cut the
deficit.
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However, in 1998, the
Supreme Court ruled that a
line-item veto was
unconstitutional because it
tried to get around the
process that the Framers
set up for the President to
veto something. Critics also
said it was a way for
Congress to get out of
having to cut spending
themselves by shifting that
responsibility to the
president.