American Government Chapter 11 Notes

Congressional Power Congress only has those powers delegated to it by the Constitution. The powers of Congress are categorized in 3 areas: Expressed powers – written in the Constitution Implied Powers – by reasonable deduction from the expressed powers Inherent Powers – those powers typically set aside for national governments

Strict v. Liberal Constructionists Much of the early conflict in U.S. politics centered on the powers of Congress. The strict constructionists were led by Thomas Jefferson; they believed that Congress should only be able to exercise the expressed powers and those implied powers absolutely necessary to carry out the expressed powers. The liberal constructionists were led by Alexander Hamilton; they favored a very liberal interpretation of the powers given to Congress.

Expressed Powers Most of the expressed powers are found in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. There are 18 separate clauses and 27 different powers explicitly given to Congress. The Constitution gives Congress the power to tax; however, Congress’ power to tax is NOT unlimited. Congress cannot tax church services Congress cannot implement a poll tax Congress may tax only for public, not private, purposes. Congress may NOT tax exports. Taxes must be levied at the same rate in all states

Expressed Powers Borrowing Power Commerce Power – power to regulate trade Currency Power Foreign Relations Power – act on matters of national security (immigration and measures to combat terrorism) War Powers – war and national defense – Only Congress can declare war! Naturalization

Expressed Powers Postal Power Copyrights and Patents Weights and Measures – absolute need for accurate, uniform gauges of time, distance, area, weight, volume, etc. Judicial Powers – create all federal courts below the Supreme Court and define federal crimes and punishments for violations of federal law

Implied Powers The Constitutional basis for the implied powers is found in one of the expressed powers “Necessary and Proper Clause” McCulloch v. Maryland 1819 Congress created Second Bank of the United States There was a branch of the Second Bank in Baltimore, Maryland State of Maryland placed a tax on all bank notes issued by banks not chartered in the state of Maryland James McCulloch was the bank’s head cashier – he purposely issued notes on which no tax was paid

McCulloch v. Maryland 1819 (continued) The state of Maryland sued James McCulloch The U.S. appealed to the Supreme Court on his behalf Maryland argued that the creation of the bank was unconstitutional The Supreme Court sided with McCulloch – the creation of the Second Bank was ‘necessary and proper’ based on the expressed powers give to Congress of: taxing, borrowing, currency, and commerce.

Non-Legislative Powers Electoral Duties House of Representatives may be called upon to elect a President if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes It chooses between the 3 highest contenders, and each state gets one vote – majority wins Constitutional Amendments Congress may propose an amendment to the Constitution with a 2/3 vote in each house of Congress

Non-Legislative Powers Impeachment The Constitution provides that the President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the U.S. may be removed from office thru impeachment. The House has the sole power to impeach, or accuse or bring charges – only a majority vote is required The Senate serves as the judge and jury. There must be a 2/3 majority in the Senate to convict. The penalty for conviction is removal from office.

Impeachment of Presidents Only 2 Presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 Bill Clinton in 1998 Both were acquitted, or found not guilty by the Senate Richard Nixon resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment in the Watergate Scandal. He resigned in 1974.

What was Watergate? A June, 1972 attempt by Republican operatives to break in to the Democratic Party’s national headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. President Nixon had ignored several subpoena requests for tape recordings of Watergate-related conversations in the Oval Office. It was apparent that the House would impeach him and that the Senate would convict him. Facing almost certain impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974.