1. The Powers of Congress--Terms
CH 11, pp
The Powers of Congress--Terms

2. Strict constructionist
291 Believes that Congress should have only the power EXPRESSED in the Constitution, and
Implied powers necessary to carry out the expressed powers.
States should have as much power as possible.

3. Liberal constructionist
291 believes that the powers of Congress are broad, beyond those expressed and implied.
History has shown more Americans think this way.

4. Consensus
292 general agreement in a group, based on group attitude/discussion, not a vote.

5. taxes
Direct tax
296 must be paid directly by the person on whom the tax is imposed.
Income tax
Property tax

6. Indirect tax 296 paid first by one person, then passed on to another.
Liquor tax
Cigarette tax
Sales tax

7. Public debt
296 all the money borrowed by the Federal government over many years and not repaid.
2006: $8.5 Trillion
2010: $9 Trillion
U.S. GDP, 2009: $14 Trillion

8. Deficit financing
296 The government routinely spends more money than it collects in taxes.
It borrows what it needs
Bonds
From various government annuity accounts
Social security

9. Commerce power
297 The ability of Congress to regulate interstate and foreign trade
Allows for business to be done more efficiently and profitably
Allows for the government to be sure business is fair and safe for Americans.

10. Legal tender
299 any kind of money that a creditor must by law accept in payment for debts.
First created in 1863

11. Naturalization
302 process by which an immigrant becomes a citizen of the United States.
Congress sets the regulations for this process.

12. Copyright
Government awarded right to the original author of an idea (creative work).
Registered with the Copyright Office in the Library of Congress.
People wanting to use a copyrighted idea must get exclusive permission from the author or his/her legal representatives
Still, there IS “Public Domain”, aka “fair use”

13. Patent
303 A person or business has the only right to manufacture, use, or sell “any new and useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter”.
Good for 20 years
Extended only by an act of Congress
Handled by the Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.

14. Eminent domain A government may take private property for public use.
Not an expressed or implied power

15. Appropriate
A legislature decides where government funds will be assigned/awarded
Often for a particular use
Often by government departments and agencies

16. Necessary and Proper Clause 2/6
The express part of the Constitution that allows Congress to create laws as needed, though not expressly listed.
Aka: “elastic clause”
Which kind of constructionist would not like this clause?
Strict constructionist.

17. Successor 311 A replacement, someone to fill the vacancy.
Replacement Vice President is subject to a majority vote in both houses.

18. Impeach 311 to accuse and bring charges.
House alone has the power to impeach
The president
Vice president
Any civil officer of the United States
Senate tries and judges the case
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the hearings.

19. Acquit 311 to be found “NOT guilty.”
Both impeached presidents were acquitted…..
Andrew Johnson, 1868
Bill Clinton, 1998

20. Perjury 311 lying under legal oath.
Bill Clinton’s impeachment was based on this.
Censure
A formal condemnation of a person’s misbehavior.
Bill Clinton was censured for his lies.

21. Subpoena 313 a legal order telling someone to appear at court and/or
produce certain evidence
Richard Nixon ignored a Congressional subpoena…..

22. Hwk Concepts, Class Work, to Know

23. Concepts
What are the differences among Congress’ expressed powers, implied powers and inherent powers?
Expressed are written out clearly
Implied can be reasonably deduced from the expressed powers
Inherent have traditionally been done without any challenges.

24. What are three examples you can give of laws that Congress can enact under the Constitution?
Protect interstate trade
Provide for the national defense
Approve nomination of justices

25. What are three examples you can give of laws that Congress cannot enact under the Constitution?
Create a national public school system
Set minimum ages for marriage or drivers’ licenses
Use censorship

26. What does this sentence mean?
“historically, there has been a consensus in this country with regard to a broad rather than a narrow construction of the Constitution”
Americans generally agree that the Constitution should be interpreted broadly.

27. What three factors brought about the recent return to deficit spending at the federal level?
Recession in 2001,
Major tax cuts in 2001, 2002, and 2003
Global war on terrorism

28. What are three ways Congress uses the commerce power?
Regulating commerce with foreign powers and between states
Preventing monopolies and trusts
Preventing discrimination in access to public places

29. Why did the framers give Congress the sole power to coin money?
Other sources of money had no sound backing or taxing power
Competition between state and private currencies made value unreliable
To avoid the use of foreign currency

30. How do the President and Congress share power in the fields of foreign relations and defense?
Foreign relations: president has primary responsibility, but Congress has expressed and inherent powers
Defense: The President is Commander-in-chief of the military, but only Congress can declare war, maintain armies and navies, and make various rules pertaining to the military.

31. In theory, the expressed-powers limit would not be effective.
Merely requiring that the implied powers be based on the expressed powers does not effectively limit their use. Why do you agree or disagree with this statement?
In theory, the expressed-powers limit would not be effective.
Logical arguments could connect expressed power to the use of almost any imaginable implied power.
In practice, there are controls on how far we can go in the implied powers,
public opinion,
representative democracy,
the separation of powers,
the system of checks and balances.

32. broke the steamboat monopolies
What impact did the Gibbons v. Ogden decision have on domestic transportation systems?
This decision
broke the steamboat monopolies
and freed entrepreneurs from state regulations in
steam navigation
later, railroad systems—
As a result, domestic transportation was revolutionized.

33. Powers EW Images, 291, question Left: Government building is gigantic
Citizen is in awe, maybe intimidated by it.
Right:
Government building is tiny
Citizen looks as if he is telling it what to do

34. That if the government gets too small, it becomes ineffectual
Powers EW
Images, 292, questions
That if the government gets too small, it becomes ineffectual
The fact that the tree has no branches on which flowers and apples can grow help make this point.

35. 6 O’clock Images, 295, questions
national defense spending decreased, health and medical spending increased
spending on net interest decreased, several other areas remained the same, only health and medical spending increased significantly

36. Images, 296, question Not very successful 6
There are still many forms and instructions taxpayers might have to use.
complicated tables to refer to

37. 12 Images, 297, question There would have been less competition
Higher fees
Fewer inventions
Fewer changes
Slower expansion of the national transportation system

38. environmental protection laws 12
Images, 298, question
Allows power to pass
environmental protection laws
prohibition of discrimination laws—race, disability

39. 6 Images, 299, question Successful currency has
always had public confidence
always been seen as useful by the public
Images, 300, question
The overall trend has been a steady increase
With two brief periods of decline

40. 12
Images, 302, question
Such powers—critical to the stability of the nation—were seen as falling in the domain of the Congress

41. 12 Images, 303, questions a utility patent
a web site that provides links to other merchants is not a new original idea

42. 6
Images, 304, questions
Nevada, Arizona, and Utah
Answers will vary

43. 12 Images, 305, questions the Federalists, a strong central government
that it is strong and has popular support
Federalist

44. 6 Images, 306-7, questions The Necessary and Proper Clause;
It is broad and nonspecific, Congress has been able to expand the powers of its own and other branches.
The Court decided that Congress had overstepped it commerce power
Also that Congress had invaded the reserved powers of the states.

45. 6
Images, 308, question
Such powers are necessary for Congress to carry out its expressed powers

46. WE Images, 314, question Oversee executive agencies
Rouse public attention
They gather legislative information
Expose questionable activities of public officials
Promote congressional interests

47. WE
Images, 317, questions 35
to indicate that they are entertaining, but may or may not work
it was not acted on
that the tax cuts considered by Congress are not consequential

48. 6
Images, 312, questions +why did Richard Nixon resign in 1974 rather than face impeachment?
a majority of members is required to start the process, secure impeachment, and convict
witnesses are heard and evidence presented as in a regular trial
debate is present at every level of the process
in both cases, conviction did not have the support of the majority of participants.
The evidence and testimony against Nixon was so condemning that he would surely have been removed from office.

49. 6
Images, 312, questions +why did Richard Nixon resign in 1974 rather than face impeachment?
The evidence and testimony against Nixon was so condemning that he would surely have been removed from office.
Tape: placing critics in media and elsewhere on a list to look for tax problems/possible prosecution
Tape: Misleading FBI investigation by telling them it is a CIA operation. FBI would then stop investigation (which is getting close to blowing the White House operation wide open).