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Powers of Congress Congress
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What types of powers does Congress have?
Lawmaking What types of powers does Congress have?
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Interpreting the Powers of Congress
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Congress Interpreting Powers Interpreting the Powers of Congress
Strict Interpretation Loose Interpretation Congress should only be able to use its expressed powers Congress can do anything the Constitution does not prevent Congress has limited powers and is not powerful Congress is very powerful and has lots of implied powers They can only do what the Constitution specifically authorizes They can do whatever the constitution does not stop them from doing
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Congress Interpreting Powers Commerce Clause
“Congress has the power to regulate commerce between the states” Congress can get involved in any economic activity that involves more than one state SC has interpreted the commerce clause loosely Almost any economic activity is “interstate commerce” so Congress can regulate any economic activity
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Congress Interpreting Powers Commerce Clause Regulations
Civil Rights Act 1964 – no discrimination Minimum Wage Laws Health & Safety regulation in the work place Banning Child Labor Preventing monopolies Allowing Labor Unions
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Congress Interpreting Powers Necessary & Proper Clause
“Congress can make all laws necessary and proper to carry out the expressed powers” Also called the “elastic clause” It stretches the powers of Congress – each expressed power grants Congress some additional powers This means Congress has implied powers that it needs in order to fulfill its expressed powers.
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Article 1, Section 8 Congress
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Congress Enumerated Powers Article 1, Section 8
Section 8 of Article 1 lists Congress’s expressed powers Since these are listed and given specifically to Congress, and not to the states, these are called enumerated powers. Congress has more expressed powers than any other branch.
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Congress Enumerated Powers Collect Taxes
Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes. Also allows Congress to spend money and pay the debts of the United States as well Excise taxes – like gas or alcohol – must be the same in all states (federal taxes only)
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Congress Enumerated Powers Borrow Money
Congress has the power to borrow on the credit of the United States The modern government could not function without this power This allows the govt to operate on a deficit – meaning we spend more money than we raise from taxes This allows us to have lots of government programs but not very high taxes to fund them
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Congress Enumerated Powers Regulate Commerce
Congress has the power to regulate commerce among the several states Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations Congress has the power to regulate commerce with the “Indian tribes” This is the “interstate commerce clause” and has been interpreted to give Congress expansive powers
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Congress Enumerated Powers Naturalization & Bankruptcy
Congress has to establish uniform laws on naturalization Congress has to set uniform laws on bankruptcy They set federal laws about how one becomes a citizen of the US They handle all laws dealing with bankruptcy, not states Specifically so they are the same in every state. Congress has used this to limit immigration & establish bankruptcy courts
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Congress Enumerated Powers Coin Money & Measurements
Congress has the power to coin money Congress has to fix a standard of weights and measurements They set up the US Mint to actually deal with creating money They regulate the value of our currency – and have created the Federal Reserve to do this Congress makes the decision about what system of weights & measurements we use
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Congress Enumerated Powers Punish Counterfeiting
Congress punishes counterfeiters They delegated this power to the Secret Service
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Congress Enumerated Powers Post Offices
Congress has to establish post offices and post roads They set up the USPS and give it authority to handle the mail This also gives Congress the authority to build roads in the country “National Road’ in the early 1800s; Interstate Highway System in the 1950s
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Congress Enumerated Powers Copyrights, Patents, & Supporting Arts
Congress has the power to promote the arts and sciences They have to secure limited times to authors and inventors to rights to their products They create system to grant copyrights and patents and make rules for those US tends to have better copyright/patent protections for inventors/artists than other places “Supporting A&S” allows them to run financial aid programs for college
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Congress Enumerated Powers Courts
Congress has to set up courts inferior to the Supreme Court They have set up the federal court systems & can change it They created special courts like tax court, military court, etc.
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Congress Enumerated Powers Piracy
Congress has to fight piracy – like boat pirates They have to define the crimes on “the high seas” and deal with those
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Congress Enumerated Powers Declare War
Congress has the power to declare war The president will usually ask them to do so They authorize action to take place outside of US borders
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Congress Enumerated Powers Raise armies
Congress is responsible for building and maintaining and army for the US This makes them responsible for funding, obtaining supplies, and finding people to serve. If people won’t join, Congress has an implied power to conscript Congress may make rules about qualification for recruits
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Congress Enumerated Powers Raise a navy Regulate Land & Naval Forces
Congress is responsible for building and maintaining a navy This power is not much different than its power to build an army Regulate Land & Naval Forces Congress is responsible for “regulating” these in addition to “raising” them
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Congress Enumerated Powers Regulate Washington DC
Congress has the power to administer the capital of the nation Washington DC did not exist at the time, its location was part of a compromise to get the Constitution ratified Congress has given Washington DC the authority to elect its own government, like mayors and council They have intervened in cases where they do not like what the DC government does (marijuana legalization)
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Congress Enumerated Powers Necessary & Proper Clause
Congress has the power to make laws necessary & proper to help them carry out these tasks The implied powers of Congress are derived from this power.
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Sorting the Powers Congress
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Regulate interstate commerce
Congress Powers Economic Powers Levy Taxes Coin Money Borrow & Spend Regulate interstate commerce Foreign trade Bankruptcy
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Congress Powers Foreign Policy Powers Declare War Raise Army
Raise Navy Fight Piracy Foreign trade Naturalization
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Congress Powers Foreign Policy Powers Checks on the POTUS
Approve treaties Approve all ambassadors Checks on the POTUS Approve Secretary of State Control budget
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Weights & measurements
Congress Powers Random Powers! Eminent Domain Post Office & Roads Weights & measurements Copyrights & Patents Arts & Sciences Washington DC
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Bigly Ideas Beliefs & Behaviors
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Economic & Foreign Powers
Congress Wrap Up Commerce Clause Elastic Clause Expressed Powers Economic & Foreign Powers Focus on these things:
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