Congressional Powers
Congressional Power— Congressional power is limited by the fact that it has only those powers delegated to it by the
Constitution.
Congress cannot create national public schools.
Congress cannot require people to vote.
Congress cannot create a national religion.
Congress cannot censor the content of newspapers or other media outlets.
Congress cannot abolish jury trials.
Expressed Powers—specifically mentioned in the
Constitution.
Implied Powers—based on reasonable deduction.
Inherent Powers—based on the creation of a sovereign government in the world community.
Strict Constructionists—Led by Thomas Jefferson.
Believed that Congress should only be able to exercise the expressed powers and the implied powers that are absolutely necessary to performing their duties.
Liberal Constructionists—Led by Alexander
Hamilton. Favored a liberal interpretation of the
Constitution. Over the years, the power of the
National Government has grown substantially with the support of the American people.
Liberal Constructionists have won out over time due to wars, economic crises, national emergencies, improvements in transportation and communication, and demands by the people for more government services.
Power to Tax—a charge levied by the government on persons or property
Taxes are used to meet public needs.
Taxes (tariffs) are used to protect domestic industry.
Taxes protect health and safety (licensing drug companies).
Limits on taxation
Cannot tax churches
Cannot impose poll taxes
Taxes must be for public purposes, not private benefit
Cannot tax exports
Borrowing Power
Article I, Section 8, Clause 2 of the Constitution gives the federal government the ability to borrow money on the credit of the United States.
There are no limits on the amount that we can borrow which has allowed the government to deficit spend.
Public Debt—is all of the money that has been borrowed over the years that has not been repaid.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Commerce Power
Represents the power of the federal government to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.
Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824—was the 1 st major court case regarding the Commerce Clause to reach the Supreme Court.
Read page 297 and explain this case below:
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gibbons and the federal government.
Over the years, the Commerce Clause has been interpreted more widely and applied to issues such as the minimum wage and the
Civil Rights Act of 1965.
Limits on commerce power.
Cannot tax exports.
Cannot favor the ports of one state over another.
Currency and Bankruptcy Power
The Constitution gives Congress the authority to establish a single/common legal tender.
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 gives Congress the ability to establish uniform policies for bankruptcy. It is a concurrent power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuGIgf-ICHM
To declare war
To raise and support armies
To provide and maintain a navy
To make laws governing land and naval forces
To summon, organize, arm, and discipline the militia
Given to Congress through the Necessary and Proper
Clause or the “Elastic Clause”
The Supreme Court gave its approval to this concept in the court case McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819.
Complete the chart below explaining the implied powers given by the each expressed power (page 308):
Lay and
Collect
Taxes
Raise
Armies and a Navy
punish tax evaders
-regulate or outlaw sale of some commodities
-set standards for states to gain fed funding
-the draft
Regulate
Commerce
Borrow
Money
Establish
Naturalizati on Law
Establish
Post
Offices
-minimum wage
-ban discrimination at work and public facilities
-disability protection
-regulate banks
-establish the
Federal
Reserve
Banking
System
-regulate and limit immigration
-prohibit mail fraud and obstruction
-ban some items from being mailed
Amendments—Article V allows Congress to propose an
Amendment by 2/3 vote in each house
Electoral Duties—House will choose a President by state if no majority in the electoral college / Senate will choose a VP by senator
Impeachment—House is Grand Jury / Senate is Trial Jury
Executive Appointments and Treaties—Appointments must be approved by majority of the Senate / Senate Foreign
Relations Committee is now very influential on treaties
Investigation—gather info for a bill, oversee executive operations, bring attention to a particular topic (steroids in baseball), expose public officials, promote interests of some members of Congress
