Chapter 11 PPT - Ash Grove R

American Citizenship Chapter 11 Notes Powers of Congress

Section 1 

The Scope of Congressional Powers

Congressional Power Congress only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution



–

Cannot do:   

  

create national public school system require people to vote or attend church set a minimum age for marriage or driver’s license abolish jury trials confiscate all hand-guns etc.

Congressional Power (Con’t) Congress only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution (Con’t)



–

Can do: 

Expressed Powers –



Implied Powers –



Things said specifically in the Constitution One can reasonably deduce the power from expressed powers

Inherent Powers

Strict Versus Liberal Construction

Originally, the split over the federalist and anti-federalist was about the powers of Congress



–

Strict Constructionist   

–

Led by Thomas Jefferson and believed that Congress should only do expressed powers and only important implied powers “That government is best which governs least” wanted the States to keep as much power as possible

Liberal Constructionists 

Led by Alexander Hamilton and believed that Congress should have a great deal of power

Strict Versus Liberal Construction (Con’t) More often than not, the American people have agreed with more government, as opposed to less government



–

Also known as a consensus 

general agreement

Section 2 

The Expressed Powers of Money and Commerce

The Power to Tax The Constitution gives congress the right “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises…” Article 1 Section 8 Clause 1 The Purpose of Taxes





–

A tax is a charge levied by government on persons or property to meet public needs 

However, import taxes protect domestic industry against foreign competition

The Power to Tax (Con’t) Limits on the Taxing Power



– – –

Congress may tax only for public purposes, not private benefit Congress can not tax exports Direct taxes must be apportioned among the states 

–

A tax that must be paid by the person whom it is imposed

All indirect taxes must be levied at the same rate in all parts of the country 

A tax first paid by one person but then passed on to another

Borrowing Power There are no restriction on the amount of money that Congress can borrow For decades the U.S. Federal Government has practiced deficit financing

 

–

Regularly spending more than it takes in each year, and borrowing to make up the difference

The public debt has grown rapidly since 1969



–

All of the money borrowed by the government over the years, not yet repaid, plus the accumulated interest on that money

The Commerce Power Power of Congress to regulate interstate and foreign trade



–

Originally a major weakness of the Article of Confederation

Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824



–

Arose out of a clash over the regulation of steamboats by the State of New York Court’s decision expanded the interpretation of the term “Commerce”

– 

The Court’s and Congress have defined more implied powers over the years

The Commerce Power (Con’t) Limits on the Commerce Power



– – – –

Cannot tax exports Cannot favor the ports of one state over those of any other in the regulation of trade Cannot require that “vessels” pay taxes when entering or exiting states Could not interfere with the slave trade

The Currency Power Due to the confusion after the Revolutionary War, the framers of the Constitution called for a single, national system of “hard” money



–

Since 1789 Congress has provided the nation with a uniform, stable monetary system

Congress created the first Bank of the United States in 1791 and they created paper money



–

However they were not legal tender 

–

any kind of money that a creditor must by law accept in payment for debts

By 1861 the paper money was legal tender

The Bankruptcy Power Bankrupt individual or company or other organization is one a court has found to be unable to pay debts in full Bankruptcy





–

Is the legal proceeding in which the bankrupts’ assets are distributed among those to whom a debt is owed

Section 3 

Other Expressed Powers

Foreign Relations Powers Congress shares power in this field with the President



–

States are not allowed to take part in foreign relations because they are not sovereign

Receives these powers from two sources



– –

Expressed powers, such as war powers and regulate foreign commerce Implied by being the Legislative Branch 

lawmaking body

War Powers 



– – – – – 

The Constitution makes the President the Commander in Chief, however Congress has strong war powers as well Congress has the ability to:

Declare war Raise and support armies Provide and maintain a navy Make rules pertaining to the governing of land and naval forces Etc.

Passage of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, congress can restrict the use of American forces in combat in areas where a state of war does not exist

Other Expressed Powers Naturalization



–

The process by which citizens of one country become citizens of another

Postal Power



–

Congress has the power “to establish Post Offices and post Roads.” Article 1, Section 8, Article 7  

Federal law to obstruct the mails States can not tax the Postal Service

Other Expressed Powers (Con’t) Copyrights and Patents



– –

Copyrights and Patents are determined by the Legislative Branch Copyright  

the exclusive rights of an author to reproduce, publish, and sell his or her creative work Currently they are registered by the Library of Congress and last the lifetime of the author and 70 years afterwards

Other Expressed Powers (Con’t) 

Copyrights and Patents (Con’t) – Patent  grants a person the sole right to manufacture, use or sell “any new and useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new useful improvement there of”  Good for 20 years

– Enforced through the Department of Commerce

Other Expressed Powers (Con’t) Weights and Measures



–

Power to “fix the stands of weights and measures” Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5

Power Over Territories and Other Areas



– –

Power to acquire, manage and dispose of various federal areas Congress may acquire the territories through purchase, gift or eminent domain 

inherent power to take private property for public use

Other Expressed Powers (Con’t) Judicial Powers



– –

Expressed power to create all the courts below the Supreme Court Right to define federal crimes and set punishments for violators of federal law

Section 4 

The Implied Powers

The Necessary and Proper Clause Congress appropriates money to many programs not called for in the Constitution



– –

Assigns to a particular use This is called implied powers

“To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof” Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18



–

This clause has been used to expand the power of Congress to “Implied Powers”

The Battle Over Implied Powers Began with Alexander Hamilton, as Secretary of Treasury, helped Congress set up a national bank



–

Opponents of this action stated that it was not an expressed power for Congress

McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819



–

Congress had created the Second Bank of the United States in Maryland Maryland began taxing the bank, as a form of checks and balance

– 

Maryland took a strict constructionist view on the issue

The Battle Over Implied Powers (Con’t) McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 (Con’t)



–

The Supreme Court unanimously held that the Constitution need not expressly empower Congress to create a bank  

Chief Justice John Marshall used the “necessary and proper clause” to meet the expressed power over commerce Also reinforced Judicial Review as well

The Doctrine in Practice



–

A principle or fundamental policy

Section 5 

The Nonlegislative Powers

Constitutional Amendments Congress may propose amendments by a two-thirds vote in each house



–

Done 33 times

Also call a national convention of delegates



–

Never been done

Electoral Duties House of Representatives may be called on to elect a President



–

Only if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes 

Done in 1801 with Thomas Jefferson and 1825 with John Quincy Adams

Also, 25th Amendment provides for the filling of a vacancy in the vice presidency



– –

President nominates a successor Majority vote in both house of Congress confirms nominee

Impeachment The House has the sole power to impeach



–

To accuse, bring charges

Senate has sole power to try, judge, in impeachment cases Impeachment requires only a majority vote in the House; conviction requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate

 

–

Penalty for conviction is removal from office

Impeachment (Con’t) Andrew Johnson



–

Became president after the death of Abraham Lincoln Violated the Tenure of Office Act and was impeached by the House

– 

However acquitted by the Senate –

found not guilty

Bill Clinton



–

Impeached by the House on an account of perjury and obstruction of justice  

lying under oath and withholding information Also acquitted by the Senate

Impeachment (Con’t) Richard Nixon



–

In June 1972, Republic operatives attempted to break into the Democratic Party’s national headquarters in Watergate Complex in D.C. 

–

Thus the term Watergate

The probe over this incident led to a long list of illegal acts

Impeachment (Con’t) 

Richard Nixon (Con’t) – House voted to impeach Nixon and requested a subpoena of several tape recordings from the Oval Office  legal order directing one to appear in court and/or to produce certain evidence

– In light of the pending conviction, Nixon resigned before being convicted and removed from office

Executive Powers Appointments



–

All major appointments made by the President must be confirmed by the Senate by a majority vote

Treaties



–

May be accepted or rejected, amended by the Senate  

Many times the President asks advice of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Also, the House holds the purse strings, so many times they are consulted in the treaty-making process

Investigatory Power Has the Power to investigate issues



– – – –

–

Gather information useful to Congress in the making of some legislation Oversee the operations of various executive branch agencies Focus public attention on a particular subject Expose the questionable activities of public officials or private persons Promote the particular interests of some members of Congress