Chapter 11 Powers of Congress

Link to quizlets to help you study:  http://quizlet.com/30089931/magruders-american-government-flash-cards/

Book practice test:  http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?wcprefix=mqa&wcsuffix=3116&area=view

​Link to more Info

Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYxtCTIQNb4

•How does the Necessary and Proper Clause give Congress flexibility in lawmaking?
•What key developments have occurred in the battle over the implied powers of Congress?


The Necessary and Proper Clause

The Necessary and Proper Clause gives to Congress the power:

“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 I, Section 8, Clause 18

The Battle Over Implied Powers

•The formation of the Bank of the United States spawned controversy between strict and liberal constructionists.
•In McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819, the formation of the Second Bank of the United States was challenged by strict constructionists.
•Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in favor of the Second Bank, giving sweeping approval to the concept of implied powers.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzTlpDw-nvg

In Class Video on McCulloch V. Maryland:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYxtCTIQNb4

​Review Questions:


In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court
a. ruled the doctrine of implied powers to be unconstitutional.
b. upheld the doctrine of implied powers.
c. upheld the right of the State of Maryland to tax a federal agency.
d. ruled the creation of a bank by Congress to be unconstitutional.


Why did the Framers include the Necessary and Proper Clause in the Constitution?
a. to empower Congress to pass laws needed to carry out the expressed powers
b. to limit congressional powers to those expressly stated in the Constitution
c. to define the scope of the inherent powers of Congress
d. to set forth those powers considered necessary to the States










Answers:   B / A

•What are the key sources of Congress’s foreign relations powers?
•How does the power-sharing agreement between Congress and the President on the issues of war and national defense work?
•What other key powers can Congress exercise?



Foreign Relations and War Powers
•Congress has the inherent power to act on matters affecting the security of the nation.
• Congress’s war powers are extensive and substantial, including: the power to raise and support armies, to provide and maintain a navy, and to organize, arm, and discipline the military.
•Congress also has the power to restrict the use of American forces in combat in areas where a state of war does not exist (War Powers Resolution of 1973).

Other Expressed Powers
Naturalization
 Naturalization is the process by which citizens of one country become citizens of another.

The Postal Power
 Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 says that Congress has the power “[t]o establish Post Offices and post Roads.”

Copyrights and Patents

 A copyright is the exclusive right of an author to reproduce, publish, and sell his or her creative work.
 A patent grants a person the sole right to manufacture, use, or sell “any new and useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.”

Weights and Measures
 Congress has the power to “fix the Standard of Weights and Measures” throughout the United States.


Judicial Powers
 Congress may create all of the federal courts below the Supreme Court and structure the federal judiciary.
 Congress may also define federal crimes and set punishment  for violators of federal law.

Power Over Territories and Other Areas
 Congress has the power to acquire, manage, and dispose of various federal areas.
 One way of acquiring property is through eminent domain, the inherent power to take private property for public use.

For Fun try a practice citizenship test (click the link to start):my.uscis.gov/en/prep/test/civics/view

•What powers does Congress have to tax? 
•How does Congress use its power to borrow money? 
•How important is Congress’s commerce power? 
•Why did the Framers give Congress the power to issue currency? 
•How does the bankruptcy power work?


National Debt Clock:www.usdebtclock.org/#


The Power To Tax

  The Constitution gives Congress the power:

“To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States.…”

—Article I, Section 8, Clause 1


•The Constitution gives Congress the power to tax, this was not included in the Articles of Confederation
•Tax- a charge levied by the government on persons or property to raise money to meet public needs
•Limitations of Taxing Power
–Only for public purposes, not for private benefit
–May not tax exports
–Direct Taxes, paid directly to the government by whom they are imposed, must be apportioned among the States according to their populations
–All indirect taxes must be levied at the same rate in every part of the country


Borrowing Power
•The Constitution gives Congress the power to borrow on the credit of the United States, there are no limits to the amount and no restriction on the purpose
•Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress and President Clinton, vowed to eliminate deficit financing by 2002
–Did so by 1998, continued in ’99,’00,’01
•Three Factors eliminated this progress
–Sharp downturn in the nation’s economy
–Major tax cut by President Bush and enacted in Congress in ’01,’02,’03
–The onset of war in Afghanistan and Iraq


Commerce Power
•Congress has the power to regulate interstate and foreign trade
•Commerce Clause- gives Congress the power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes
•Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824
–Gibbons claimed the New York grant conflicted with the power of congress to regulate commerce, the Court agreed
•Limits of the Commerce power
–Cannot tax exports
–Cannot favor the ports of one State of those of any other in the regulation of trade
–Cannot require that “Vessels bout to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another
–Could not interfere with the slave trade (until 1808)


Currency Power
•Constitution gives Congress the power to coin money and regulate the values thereof
•Also gives Congress the power to establish uniform laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States

Practice Test:  Click on the following site  http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?wcprefix=mqa&wcsuffix=3105&area=view


Review site:  click on the following site  http://quizlet.com/37712535/magruders-american-government-chapter-10-review-flash-cards/



Extra notes :   http://www.wasatch.edu/cms/lib/ut01000315/centricity/domain/652/magchapter_10.pdf



​preamble practice quiz: www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz850899c0280.html 

preamble practice quiz:www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/interactive_constitution/quiz/quiz1_content.htm

  The Constitution grants Congress a number of specific powers in three different ways.

  (1) The expressed powers are granted to Congress explicitly in the Constitution.
  (2) The implied powers are granted by reasonable deduction from the expressed powers.
  (3) The inherent powers are granted through the Constitution’s creation of a National Government for the United States.


Strict Versus Liberal Construction

  •Strict constructionists, led by Thomas Jefferson, argued that Congress should only be able to exercise (1) its expressed powers and (2) those implied powers absolutely necessary to carry out those expressed powers.

  •Liberal constructionists, led by Alexander Hamilton, favored a liberal interpretation of the Constitution, a broad interpretation of the powers given to Congress.

Review Questions:









The powers of Congress are affected by all of the following EXCEPT what the
a. Constitution expressly says Congress may do.
b. Constitution says only the States may do.
c. States’ constitutions say Congress may do.
d. Constitution is silent about.


The level of the nation's debt
a. is limited by the Constitution.
b. is always limited by Congress.
c. is not limited by any government agency.
d. may not exceed $10 billion.


Answers:  C / C

Senators and representatives are elected to represent people. As legislators, they have four voting options: 

Trustees believe that each question they face must be decided on its merits.

Delegates see themselves as agents of the people who elected them.

Lawmakers who owe their first allegiance to their political party are partisans.

Politicos attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles.


Committee Membership and Public Servants 

-As committee members, senators and representatives screen proposed laws before they are voted on. 

-Another vital part of their committee work involves the oversight function.

-Oversight is the the process by which Congress, through its committees, checks to see that the agencies of the executive branch are working effectively. 

-Members of the House and the Senate also act as servants of their constituents.

-Requests from voters vary widely, and members of Congress take heed to many of them. Ignoring their constituencies would not bode well in the next election. 

Compensation 

-Today, senators and representatives are paid a salary of $174,000 a year. Certain members, such as the Speaker of the House and the Senate’s president pro tem, are paid more. 

-The franking privilege allows members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for the postage. 

-The Constitution says that Congress fixes its own “compensation.” Therefore, the only real limits to congressional pay are the President’s veto and fear of voter backlash against a pay increase. 

​
Membership Privileges

-Members of Congress are immune from arrest for noncriminal offenses while engaged in congressional business. 

-More importantly, the Speech and Debate Clause (Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) protects representatives and senators from suits for libel or slander arising from their official conduct. 

•How does the size of the Senate differ from the size of the House?
•How have States elected senators in the past and present?
•How and why does a senator’s term differ from a representative’s term?
•What are the qualifications for serving in the Senate?

Size, Election, and Terms
•The Constitution says that the Senate “shall be composed of two Senators from each State.” Today’s Senate consists of 100 Senators.
•Originally, the Constitution provided that senators were chosen by the State legislatures.
•In 1912 the Seventeenth Amendment was passed and called for the popular election of senators.
•Senators serve for six-year terms.
•The Senate is a continuous body, meaning that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time.


Qualifications for Senate
•The requirements for the U.S. Senate are higher than for the House of Representatives.
•The Constitution says that a Senator
 (1) must be at least 30 years of age,
 (2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and
 (3) must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.


Review Questions:

True or False 
The Senate is known as a(n) oversight function, because only a third of its seats are up for election at the same time.

Which statement about the Senate is true?
a. It has two members from each State.
b. Its members are chosen by State legislatures.
c. Each member represents one congressional district.
d. Seats are apportioned among the States according to their populations. 

Which fact disqualifies a person from representing Utah in the Senate?
a. The candidate was born in Guatemala.
b. The candidate is 43 years old.
c. The candidate lives in Utah but works in Idaho.
d. The candidate has been a citizen for eight years.





Answers: F / A / D

In class questions:

The House of Representatives
Chapter 10 – 2   Pages 267 – 273
1.  How many members in the House of Representatives?
2.  Length of term for a House member?
3.  When are Congressional elections held? 
4.  What is the minimum age to be a member of the House of Representatives?
5.  What is the length of citizenship required to be a member of the House?
6.  What is the residence requirement to be a member of the House?
7.  How are the seats in the House of Representatives apportioned?
8.  When will the next off-year election occur?
9.  Explain the difference between a single-member district seat and an at-large seat.
10.  What is gerrymandering?
11.  Why do politicians gerrymander districts?
12.  How did Wesberry v. Sanders change the makeup of Congress?
13.  What did the Reapportionment Act of 1929 do? 
​
Size and Terms
•The exact size of the House of Representatives, currently at 435 members, is determined by Congress.
•The Constitution provides that the total number of seats in the House shall be apportioned (distributed) among the States on the basis of their respective populations.
Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms.
Although there have been recent movements to limit terms, there are no limits set on the number of terms a representative may serve.

Reapportionment
Article I of the Constitution directs Congress to reapportion—redistribute—the seats in the House after each decennial census
As the United States grew in population, the number of representatives in the House also grew.
The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the “permanent” size of the House at 435 members, and provided for “automatic reapportionment.”

Congressional Elections
•Congressional elections are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.
•Off-year elections are those congressional elections held between presidential elections.

Districts
•Under the single-member district arrangement, the voter’s in each district elect one of the State’s representatives.
•The general-ticket system, no longer in use, provided that all of a State’s seats were filled at-large.

Gerrymandering
•Districts that have unusual shapes or even defy description have sometimes been gerrymandered.
•Gerrymandering refers to the act of drawing congressional districts to the advantage of the political party that controls the State legislature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcUDBgYodIE&safe=active

Qualifications for the House Members
•The Constitution says that a member of the House
 (1) must be at least 25 years of age,
 (2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and
 (3) must have been an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.
•The realities of politics also require some informal qualifications, such as party identification, name familiarity, gender, ethnic characteristics, and political experience.



Review Questions:

True or False When gerrymandered elections are conducted, all voters in a State choose from the same pool of candidates.

Which qualification for House members is NOT in the Constitution?
a. must be at least 25 years old
b. must have been a citizen for at least seven years
c. must live in the district being represented
d. must live in the State from which chosen

When must congressional elections be held?
a. the first Tuesday of every November.
b. the second day of January in odd years.
c. the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.
d. the Monday after the first Tuesday in November of each odd-numbered year.






Answers:  F / C / C