1. Journal *To be reviewed on Monday…
Using your textbook as a reference (pages ), create two brief summaries for the following Supreme Court cases; keep in mind, the major questions to answer are “What happened?”, “What did the court decide?”, and “How does this case reflect the powers granted to Congress by the Constitution?”
Gibbons vs. Ogden
McCulloch vs. Maryland

2. Powers of Congress
The US Constitution grants a series of powers to the Congress, including:
Legislation: writing, debating, and passing laws with national jurisdiction.
Taxing and Spending: The Constitution grants exclusive “power of the purse” to the US Congress, placing with them the sole ability to tax the residents of the US and spend that money via appropriations and authorizations.
Regulating Commerce: Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, as well as place import duties on goods coming into the US. This gives them broad authority to set policies for business.
Foreign Relations: Congress has the sole authority to declare war and grant treaties, but can also pass official resolutions celebrating or condemning the actions of foreign governments or citizens of other nations.
Approval and Removal: Congress is granted the power to approve Presidential nominees, and may impeach or remove members of all three branches for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Oversight and Investigation: Congress is tasked with keeping a watchful eye on spending through the executive branch as it uses money allocated via spending bills; they also have broad powers to investigate any suspected wrongdoing by members of the government, or even private citizens.

3. Current Events
Your assignment is to locate a total of (Honors 10, Academic 5) news articles from within the last two years that illustrate Congress carrying out their Constitutional duties. These should be equally divided among the following powers: Taxing and Spending, Regulating Commerce, Foreign Relations, Oversight and Investigation, Approval and Removal.
For each article, you must include the following:
Title/author/date
Source (link and/or website)
A two sentence summary answering the question “What happened?”
Important individuals/parties/groups involved, with a *brief* description of the role of each.
A single sentence stating the overall goal of the Congressional act.