1. Chapter 5.2
What are the powers of Congress in the system of checks and balances?
Article I of The Constitution

2. Defining the Powers of Congress
Expressed Powers – Powers specifically stated in the Constitution including coining money, collecting taxes, regulating commerce, raising and maintaining armed forces and declaring war (18 total expressed powers granted to Congress)
Implied Powers – Not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but are logical extensions of the “necessary and proper clause”
“make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the [expressed] Powers and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States”
Inherent Powers – Powers that all governments of sovereign nations
Power to control borders, acquire new territory, make agreements with other nations

3. Expressed Powers: Financing Powers
Two ways Congress can raise money
1.) Levying taxes
Indirect tax – tax levied on one person but passed on to another for payment to the government (e.g., gasoline, liquor, airline tickets)
Direct tax – taxes paid directly to the government
2.) Borrowing money
Allows the government to function when there is not enough expected revenue to cover expenses – a budget deficit
Originally supposed to be used for emergencies, it has recently become a standard practice

4. Expressed Power: Commerce Power
Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce
Any economic activity that occurs across state lines is controlled by laws passed by Congress
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 contains the commerce clause that grants this power to Congress

5. Expressed Powers: Defense-Related powers
Congress reserves the power to declare war,
President can still carry out acts of war by simply commanding troops into battle (because he is the commander in chief of the military)
Congress has the power to create an army and a navy
Congress maintains the ‘power of the purse’ over the military and can deny funding to the president if they opposed his use of the military

6. Other Expressed Powers
Coin money
Establish post offices
Write copyrights and patents
Standardizing weights and measures (why are we still on the imperial system???)
Establishing laws on bankruptcy (extension of commerce regulation)
Naturalization process
Establish federal courts below the Supreme Court
Congress also has the power to make laws about the time, place and manner of electing its own members

7. Implied Powers
Not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but are logical extensions of the “necessary and proper clause”
“make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the [expressed] Powers and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States”
Whatever Congress needs to do in order to exercise an expressed power is an implied power

9. Activity: Graphic Organizer
Create a graphic organizer similar to the one on the board
Provide a definition for each power of Congress
Expressed Powers
Give 10 examples of expressed powers
Implied Powers
Give 5 examples of implied powers
Inherent Powers
Give 2 examples of inherent powers
You have 10 minutes to complete this activity and turn it in.
Use pg in your book or your notes

10. Honors Gov.: Activity: Gibbons v. Ogden
Split up into THREE evenly numbered groups
One group will represent Gibbons
Create an argument to present to the Supreme Court defending Gibbons’ position One group will represent Ogden
Create an argument to present to the Supreme Court defending Ogden’s position (Use the Constitution, pg. 132, )
One group will be the Supreme Court
Read Supreme Court Procedures and familiarize yourself with a Supreme Court proceeding, Read pg 132 and familiarize yourself with Gibbons v. Ogden

11. Honors Gov.: Activity: Gibbons v. Ogden
Group 1: Two-page presentation in defense of Gibbons (Use the Constitution, pg. 132, )
Group 2: Two-page presentation in defense of Ogden (Use the Constitution, pg. 132, )
Group 3: Two-page summary of Supreme Court Procedures ( ) and a formal, written opinion of Gibbons v. Ogden (Use the Constitution, pg 132, )
Present your arguments to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court will vote in favor of Gibbons or Ogden

12. Nonlegislative (Non law making) Powers
BOTH Houses share the power to:
Propose amendments to the Constitution
Conduct investigations of the programs they created and the activities of other branches of the national government
In order to conduct investigations, Congress has the power to issue subpoenas
Impeachment proceedings
If a government official is accused of wrongdoing, Congress can put them on trial and impeach if necessary

13. Sole Power of Each House
House of Representatives
If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral college votes, the House is responsible for choosing the president
Senate
If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral college votes, the Senate is responsible for choosing the vice president

14. Limits on Powers of Congress
1.) Separation of powers
Dividing the federal government among three branches is the strongest check on congressional power
2.) Supreme Court’s power of judicial review
Allows Supreme Court to determine if actions of Congress are Constitutional and can put a stop to Congress’ actions
3.) The president’s veto power on Congressional bills prevents them from becoming laws
4.) Also, since the executive branch is in charge of enforcing the laws, they can choose not to heavily enforce laws passed by Congress

15. Limits on Powers of Congress, Contd.
Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Constitution SPECIFICALLY lists Congress’ limits of power
Examples include:
Congress is barred from suspending the writ of habeas corpus
The writ of habeas corpus makes sure that the government cannot hold prisoners in secret or without being charged with a crime
Congress cannot pass a bill of attainder, which is a law that punishes a person without a trial (can’t sentence someone to prison without going to court)
Congress cannot create ex post facto laws which criminalize actions before they are against the law

16. Activity: The House of Representatives and The Senate
Read/scan sections 5.3 and 5.4
Create a graphic novel/comic book illustrating 5.3 and 5.4.
For each BLUE HEADER:
You must have a MINIMUM of THREE TO FIVE sentences summarizing the section
You must have a MINIMUM of TWO pictures illustrating the section
You must have AT LEAST section 5.3 completed TODAY.
I will be coming around at the end of class today and checking to see if you have section 5.3 completed
This is a Test/Project grade!
DUE: 5.3 AND 5.4 Tuesday 10/24