Daily Question: 10/29/15

Name an expressed power of Congress.
Essential Question:
What powers does Congress have and how
has the Supreme Court given it more power
over time?
Daily Question: 10/26/15

1. What is a strict construction view of the
Constitution?
Where Does Congress’ Power Come
From?
 Congress gets all of its power
from Article I of the U.S.
Constitution
Powers of Congress
 Congress
has 3 kinds of power:
 Expressed – directly written in
the Constitution
 Implied – reasonably assumed
based on the expressed powers
 Inherent – nowhere in the
Constitution, but always held by
national governments
Interpreting the Constitution
 How
much power Congress has
depends on how we interpret the
Constitution
 There are two major “schools of
thought” on how much power
Congress should have
Interpreting the Constitution
 Strict
Constructionist (originalist)–
believe that Congress should only
have the expressed powers and no
more
 Support very limited government
 Believe that individual liberty is most
important
 First SC was Thomas Jefferson
Interpreting the Constitution

Liberal Constructionist (living constitution)
– believed that we should interpret the
Constitution loosely, so that Congress
could have more power
 Support an active government
 Believe that governmental effectiveness
is most important
 First LC was Alexander Hamilton
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Powers that Both Houses use
Together
 Powers of Money and Commerce
 Power to “lay and collect taxes”
Cannot tax for private benefit
Cannot tax exports
Federal tax rates must be the
same in all states
2 Kinds of Taxes
 Direct
Tax – paid by the person it
is imposed upon
 Income tax, Property tax
2 Kinds of Taxes
 Indirect
tax – imposed on one
person, but paid by another
 Cigarette Tax, Gas Tax
Powers that Both Houses use
Together
 Powers of Money and Commerce
 Power to “borrow money on the
credit of the United States”
Deficit
– money spent exceeding tax
revenue, must be borrowed this
year to pay our bills $1.1 Trillion in
2012)
Borrowed by selling bonds
Powers that Both Houses use
Together
 Powers of Money and Commerce
 Power to “borrow money on the
credit of the United States”
Debt
– total of all deficits yet to be
paid back, plus interest owed (over
$17 Trillion)
Powers that Both Houses use
Together
 Powers of Money and Commerce
 Power to “regulate commerce . . .
among the several states”
Power
is often extended to do
seemingly unrelated implied powers
 Build
interstate highways
 Ban racial discrimination
Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824
 New
York had given Robert Fulton
exclusive rights to operate a
steamboat on the Hudson River
 Fulton gave Ogden a permit to
operate the steamboat for him
 Gibbons had a license from the
U.S. government to operate a
steamboat in the same area
What are the Constitutional Issues?
 Whose permit is supreme?
 What does “commerce” mean?
In to Save the Day…
Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824
 The
court decides to interpret
“commerce” very broadly
 “Commerce” means virtually all
commercial interactions
 Thus, Congress can regulate just
about anything
Powers that Both Houses use
Together

Powers of Money and Commerce
 Power to “coin money and regulate
the value thereof”
 Power to “establish uniform laws on
the subject of bankruptcies”
 Bankruptcy
– person declared incapable
of repaying debt, debts are cleared
Expressed Powers: Foreign
Relations
Congress has the
power to declare
war
 However, they
have abdicated
the power to
wage war to the
president

How Congress Lost This Power
 Congress
passed the
Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution, allowing
the Pres. to use troops
without Congress’
permission
 Tried to take power
back with War Powers
Resolution (1973)
Why Would Congress Do This?
 Congress
is a collection of
cowards – most don’t want to
accept responsibility for mistakes
Other Expressed Powers
 Naturalization
– setting the rules
to become a citizen
 Postal Power – Congress sets up
the Post Office
 Copyrights and Patents
 Weights and Measures – making
sure they mean the same thing
nationwide
Other Expressed Powers
 Power
over territories – Congress
controls territories, and decides
whether they become states or not
 Eminent Domain – Congress can take
private property for public use
 Judicial Power – Congress sets up the
court system
Implied Powers
 Necessary
and Proper Clause –
Where the implied powers come
from
 Tells Congress they can make
any laws “necessary and
proper” for carrying out their
expressed powers
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
 First
case that tested the
Necessary and Proper Clause
 Congress created a national bank,
and Maryland hated it
 Maryland placed a tax on all
national bank transactions to try
and put it out of business
In to Save the Day…
John Marshall and the Court Say:
 Any
laws Congress passes, so
long as they hold to the spirit of
the Constitution, are okay
 This is a liberal constructionist
position
 Since this case, Congress has
used many implied powers
Nonlegislative Powers
 Propose
Constitutional
Amendments with 2/3 vote in
both houses
 House of Reps. chooses the
president if no candidate gets a
majority in the electoral college
 Senate chooses vice-president
Nonlegislative Powers
 Impeachment
–
means to bring
criminal charges
against
 Impeachment
requires majority
vote in the House
Nonlegislative Powers
 After
House
votes, trial begins
 Chief Justice acts
as judge, Senate
acts as jury
Nonlegislative Powers
A
conviction,
which would
remove the pres.
from office,
requires a 2/3
vote in the Senate
Executive Powers
 Appointment
–
President appoints
officials with
majority approval
of Senate
Executive Powers
 Treaties
–
President makes
treaties, but
Senate must
approve with 2/3
vote