The Powers of Congress--Terms CH 11, pp. 290-314 The Powers of Congress--Terms

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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”

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Hwk Concepts, Class Work, to Know

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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 1992-94 1998-2000

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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).