Where Does Congress Power Come From n Congress

Where Does Congress’ Power Come From? n Congress gets all of its power from Article I of the U. S. Constitution

Powers of Congress n Congress has 3 kinds of power: n Expressed – directly written in the Constitution n Implied – reasonably assumed based on the expressed powers n Inherent – nowhere in the Constitution, but always held by national governments

Interpreting the Constitution n How much power Congress has depends on how we interpret the Constitution n There are two major “schools of thought” on how much power Congress should have

Interpreting the Constitution n Strict Constructionist (originalist)– believe that Congress should only have the expressed powers and no more n Support very limited government n Believe that individual liberty is most important n First SC was Thomas Jefferson

Interpreting the Constitution n Liberal Constructionist (living constitution) – believed that we should interpret the Constitution loosely, so that Congress could have more power n Support an active government n Believe that governmental effectiveness is most important n First LC was Alexander Hamilton

Powers that Both Houses use Together n Powers of Money and Commerce n Power to “lay and collect taxes” n. Cannot tax for private benefit n. Cannot tax exports n. Federal tax rates must be the same in all states

n Direct 2 Kinds of Taxes Tax – paid by the person it is imposed upon n Income tax, Property tax

2 Kinds of Taxes n Indirect tax – imposed on one person, but paid by another n Cigarette Tax, Gas Tax

Powers that Both Houses use Together n Powers of Money and Commerce n Power to “borrow money on the credit of the United States” n. Deficit – money spent exceeding tax revenue, must be borrowed this year to pay our bills ($172 billion in 2007) n. Borrowed by selling bonds

Powers that Both Houses use Together n Powers of Money and Commerce n Power to “borrow money on the credit of the United States” n. Debt – total of all deficits yet to be paid back, plus interest owed (over $9 Trillion)

Powers that Both Houses use Together n Powers of Money and Commerce n Power to “regulate commerce. . . among the several states” n. Power is often extended to do seemingly unrelated implied powers n Build interstate highways n Ban racial discrimination

Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824 n New York had given Robert Fulton exclusive rights to operate a steamboat on the Hudson River n Fulton gave Ogden a permit to operate the steamboat for him n Gibbons had a license from the U. S. government to operate a steamboat in the same area

What are the Constitutional Issues? n Whose permit is supreme? n What does “commerce” mean?

Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824 n The court decides to interpret “commerce” very broadly n “Commerce” means virtually all commercial interactions n Thus, Congress can regulate just about anything

Powers that Both Houses use Together n Powers of Money and Commerce n Power to “coin money and regulate the value thereof” n Power to “establish uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies” n Bankruptcy – person declared incapable of repaying debt, debts are cleared

Expressed Powers: Foreign Relations Congress has the power to declare war n However, they have abdicated the power to wage war to the president n

How Congress Lost This Power n Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing the Pres. to use troops without Congress’ permission n Tried to take power back with War Powers Resolution (1973)

Why Would Congress Do This? n Congress is a collection of cowards – most don’t want to accept responsibility for mistakes

Other Expressed Powers n Naturalization – setting the rules to become a citizen n Postal Power – Congress sets up the Post Office n Copyrights and Patents n Weights and Measures – making sure they mean the same thing nationwide

Other Expressed Powers n Power over territories – Congress controls territories, and decides whether they become states or not n Eminent Domain – Congress can take private property for public use n Judicial Power – Congress sets up the court system

Implied Powers n Necessary and Proper Clause – Where the implied powers come from n Tells Congress they can make any laws “necessary and proper” for carrying out their expressed powers

Mc. Culloch v. Maryland (1819) n First case that tested the Necessary and Proper Clause n Congress created a national bank, and Maryland hated it n Maryland placed a tax on all national bank transactions to try and put it out of business

John Marshall and the Court Say: n Any laws Congress passes, so long as they hold to the spirit of the Constitution, are okay n This is a liberal constructionist position n Since this case, Congress has used many implied powers

Nonlegislative Powers n Propose Constitutional Amendments with 2/3 vote in both houses n House of Reps. chooses the president if no candidate gets a majority in the electoral college n Senate chooses vice-president

Nonlegislative Powers n Impeachment – means to bring criminal charges against n Impeachment requires majority vote in the House

Nonlegislative Powers n After House votes, trial begins n Chief Justice acts as judge, Senate acts as jury

Nonlegislative Powers n. A conviction, which would remove the pres. from office, requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate

Executive Powers n Appointment – President appoints officials with majority approval of Senate

Executive Powers n Treaties – President makes treaties, but Senate must approve with 2/3 vote