Powers of Congress!

Speaker of the House Most powerful position in Congress Paul Ryan- WI Reason Both elected leader of the House & acknowledged leader of the party Sets the docket Paul Ryan- WI 2nd in line for president Relationship w/ Trump

On Voting and Debate B/c Speaker is House member- May offer debate and vote on an issue Appoints a temporary presiding officer Usually doesn’t vote- vote to cause a tie- which defeats a motion MUST vote in case of tie of a tie

President of the Senate Is the VP of the US Joe Biden NOT a member of the Senate Didn’t go through the trenches to get position Can ONLY vote in case of a tie and can NOT offer debate.

Mike Pence Former Senator & IN governor Conservative- Prolife anti-gay marriage Wants deregulation of business

Congressional Powers

Powers in Constitution Exclusive- powers only to Federal Government Making war Reserved- Those given specifically given to the states. Hunting/Education Concurrent- Those shared by state and Federal Taxes

States giving up rights! For $ Control the purse- control the states Drinking Age

Congress- Only has powers granted to it by the Constitution.

Powers granted 3 ways to Government Expressed - Explicitly written in the Constitution You can read it in the Constitution Article 1 Sect 8 (page 763) Implied- Come from a reasonable deduction of powers necessary to implement expressed powers Inherent- Because it is a national government it gets to do certain things Treaties, Make war, Deal w/ international problems

Expressed Powers include Raising a navy Maintaining an army Printing and coining money Establish post offices and post roads Define and punish piracy Borrow money Declare war

Constructionist- How do we interpret the Constitution?

Strict VS Liberal Interpretations Thomas Jefferson Congress really only has the powers expressly given and very few after that. Small national gov State Rights Alexander Hamilton If it is good for the general welfare then Congress has the power. STRONG national gov National rights Today- Liberals WIN!!…

Expressed Powers of Money and Commerce Tax Borrowing Commerce Currency Bankruptcy

Taxing Power- Charge placed on people or property to raise money for the public good Ex. Protective Tariff Tax on imports to make domestic goods cheaper. Taxes to protect public Ex- alcohol/cigarettes Income Tax IRS collects money-

Limits on Taxing Tax only for public purpose not private benefit May not tax exports Goods leaving the country Churches and other Gov Agencies Tax shall be uniform throughout the entire country (indirect tax) Can’t tax CA more than SD it MUST be the same Ex- Federal gas, alcohol, and cigarette tax

Types of Tax Progressive Tax- Levied at rates based on a person’s ability to pay. Regressive Tax- Levied at fixed rates regardless of a person’s ability to pay.

Indirect tax- tax paid by one person but passed on to another. Sales Tax Direct Tax- tax paid directly to the gov by the person on whom it is imposed Income tax

Borrowing Power Gov. can borrow as much as it wants There is a law that caps it “debt ceiling”- max amount of money our country can borrow. But Congress just increases when needed. Public Debt- all the money gov. has borrowed and needs to pay back. Deficit- The amount of money over the actual money we have.

Commerce Power Right to regulate interstate and foreign trade Gibbons vs Ogden 1824 Said states could not create a monopoly Commerce power gave the Fed Gov. right to say no to discrimination Limits on Commerce Power c/n tax exports c/n favor one state over another c/n tax trade b/n states

Currency Power Right to make coins and cash Legal Tender- any kind of money that a creditor must by law accept in payments for debt. Reason- each state had a different currency which made transactions difficult

Bankruptcy Legal proceeding in which the person who files for bankruptcy’s assets (things he owns) however much or little they have are distributed among those to whom a debt is owed Once filed frees you from responsibility. All bankruptcy proceedings happen in federal courts

Other Expressed Powers

Foreign Relations- States cannot negotiate because they are NOT sovereign Congress gets powers from 2 sources- The Constitution – war powers and power to regulate foreign commerce US is sovereign so someone has to deal with other countries – why not Congress?

War Powers- Constitution says Only Congress may declare war It can raise and support armies and a navy It can call forth the militia It can make rules concerning captures on land and water

Other Expressed Powers Naturalization The Postal Power Copyrights and Patents Weights and Measures Power over Territories and Other Areas Judicial Powers

Implied Powers Implied powers come from one of the expressed powers – The Necessary and Proper Clause – Congress can make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out duties listed in the Constitution Called the “elastic clause” Used this to set up the Bank of the United States Federal kidnapping laws

Implied Powers Cont’d McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 Congress wanted to set up the 2nd Bank of the US Opponents (Maryland) started taxing notes issued by the Bank McCulloch (bank cashier) purposely didn’t pay taxes on the notes

McCulloch v. Maryland cont’d Courts said the Bank was necessary and proper b/c taxing, borrowing, currency and commerce powers Courts also said states c/n tax any agency of the fed govt This decision brought about the implied powers Give Supreme Court power to interpret it.

Non-Legislative Powers Constitutional Amendments – can propose w/ 2/3 vote in each house Electoral Duties – if no candidate receives a majority (270) of electoral votes House chooses President (one vote per state) Senate chooses VP (one vote per senator) If VP c/n serve, Senate must confirm successor Ford, Rockefeller

Non-Legislative Powers cont’d Impeachment Any civil officer (judges, pres, VP, etc) can be impeached Only the house can impeach – to accuse, bring charges against (majority vote) Senate tries impeachment cases (2/3 vote for conviction) Chief Justice of Supreme Court Presides 2 Presidents - Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton Nixon would have been, but he resigned first

Non-Legislative Powers Executive Powers Appointments Senate Confirms appointments made by the president Treaties- Senate Approve President must get the advice and consent of the senate (usually foreign relations committee) to form treaties Investigatory Power – Congress can investigate anything that falls within the scope of its legislative powers Benghazi- Libya attack on our consulate Planned Parenthood-

Letters of Marque and Reprisal Allows ships to turn into pirates in time of war! Outdated- but hey it is still there

Balance of POWER

Balance of Power Found in the Constitution- Popular Sovereignty- people are only source of power Limit Government- only do what the people allow. Based in- Constitutionalism- Gov conducted according to constitution 3. Separation of Powers- powers distributed between three separate and distinct branches

Continued- (Don’t write slide title) 4. Judicial Review- Courts review laws/executive decrees are in accordance to Constitution. 5. Federalism- balance of power between states and Federal Gov.

State Level Direct Democracy South Dakota was the first!

Initiated Measures- Both referendums and initiated laws need 5% of the # of people who voted for governor. Constitutional measures need 10% 5% is 15,854 signatures of qualified voters

The Differences- Referendum- to recall a law or constitutional amendment that has already passed Initiated Measure- proposing a new law Initiated Constitutional Measure- Proposed change to the State Constitution