Simone Lawson
The United States Congress has both explicit and implicit powers, as outlined in the Constitution. Enumerated powers, also known as explicit powers or delegated powers, are granted to the federal government by the Constitution. These powers are primarily listed in Article I, Section 8, and include the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, as well as the ability to propose amendments to the Constitution and enforce the protection of civil rights. Congress also has the authority to impeach a sitting President, with the Senate requiring a two-thirds majority vote for conviction. The Necessary and Proper Clause, found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, grants Congress the ability to create laws necessary and proper for executing its enumerated powers. This clause has been subject to interpretation, with strict constructionists arguing for a narrow interpretation of Congress's powers.
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What You'll Learn
The Necessary and Proper Clause
The text of the clause states that Congress has the legislative 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."
The interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause has been a subject of debate and contention since the drafting of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists, including Patrick Henry, expressed concern that the clause would grant the federal government unlimited power and potentially threaten individual liberty. On the other hand, Federalists like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison argued that the clause was necessary to permit the execution of powers granted by the Constitution.
The landmark Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819 significantly shaped the interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause. In this case, the Court ruled that the clause grants Congress implied powers in addition to its enumerated powers. Specifically, the Court held that Congress had the implied power to establish a national bank, as it was a suitable instrument to aid in Congress's enumerated power to tax and spend. This decision set a precedent for interpreting the Necessary and Proper Clause, with the Court siding with Hamilton's view that legislation reasonably related to express powers was constitutional.
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Impeachment powers
The United States Constitution grants Congress the power to impeach federal officials. The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach an official of the federal government by approving, through a simple majority vote, the articles of impeachment. The House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60 times. However, there have only been 21 impeachments, including three presidents, one cabinet secretary, and one senator.
The Senate is then responsible for the impeachment trial. It sits as a High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. In the case of a presidential impeachment trial, the chief justice of the United States presides. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office. The Senate may also disqualify such officials from holding public office in the future.
The impeachment process is remedial rather than punitive in nature, and the remedy is limited to removal from office. Because the process is not punitive, a party may also be subject to criminal or civil trial, prosecution, and conviction under the law after removal from office. The conviction is not considered a punishment, and the president of the United States is constitutionally prevented from granting a pardon to impeached and convicted persons.
The president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United States are subject to impeachment. Civil officers include any presidentially appointed "principal officer", such as a head of an agency, secretary, administrator, or commissioner. However, federal civil service employees do not appear to be subject to impeachment as they do not exercise "significant authority" and are not appointed by the president or an agency head.
In addition to Congress, the legislatures of the territories of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico have impeachment powers. Most states follow the same model as the United States federal government, with the lower chamber of their legislatures holding a vote to impeach, triggering an impeachment trial in the upper chamber of their legislatures.
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Admitting new states to the Union
The power to admit new states to the Union is an important and explicit authority granted to Congress in the US Constitution. This power has been exercised by Congress on numerous occasions throughout US history and has played a significant role in shaping the country's geography and political landscape.
When admitting new states, Congress follows a specific process outlined in the Constitution and subsequent legislation. The first step is for the inhabitants of a territory to form a functioning government and draft a state constitution. This constitution must be republican in form, which means it should be based on the principle of representation and the consent of the governed. Once the territorial government has fulfilled these requirements, it can petition Congress for statehood.
Congress then considers the petition and passes a statehood admission act with a simple majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The admission act details the process and conditions for admitting the new state, including any specific requirements or provisions. For example, when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as states in 1959, the admission acts specified the number of congressional representatives and senators each state would be allocated.
In addition to admitting new states, Congress also has the power to set the requirements for statehood and determine the boundaries of new states. This includes the authority to create new states from existing ones, a power that has been used several times in US history. For instance, when the western part of Virginia sought to separate from the rest of the state in 1861, Congress passed legislation recognizing the formation of a new state, which later became West Virginia. Similarly, in 1796, Congress passed an act that facilitated the creation of Tennessee from a portion of North Carolina.
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Proposing amendments to the Constitution
The legislative powers of the United States Congress are explicitly stated in the Constitution. The authority to amend the Constitution is derived from Article V of the Constitution.
The process of proposing amendments to the Constitution involves several steps and requires a supermajority vote in both houses of Congress. Firstly, Congress proposes an amendment with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This proposal takes the form of a joint resolution, which is forwarded directly to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for processing and publication. The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) within NARA plays a crucial role in this process. They add legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publish it in slip law format, as well as assemble an information package for the states.
Once the amendment is proposed, it is submitted to the states for ratification. The process can vary depending on what Congress specifies. Typically, governors formally submit the amendment to their state legislatures. However, some states have taken action on a proposed amendment without waiting to receive official notice. For an amendment to become part of the Constitution, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50). When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends an original or certified copy of the state action to the Archivist of the United States, who heads NARA. The Archivist delegates many of the duties associated with this process to the Director of the Federal Register.
The OFR examines the ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and the presence of an authenticating signature. If the documents are in order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them. Once the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and serves as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process is complete.
It is important to note that none of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by a constitutional convention. Additionally, the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, and the joint resolution does not require their signature or approval.
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Collecting federal income taxes
The power to tax is shared by the federal government and the individual states. The power to collect federal income taxes is an enumerated power of Congress, as per Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the US Constitution, also known as the Taxing Clause. This clause grants Congress the power to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises". The 16th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913, further specifies Congress's power to levy income taxes without the need for apportionment among the states or consideration of any census or enumeration.
The interpretation of the Taxing Clause has been a subject of debate, with Alexander Hamilton arguing for a broad interpretation that includes spending as an enumerated power. Hamilton's view prevailed during the Washington and Adams administrations, but it was later repudiated in the 1800 election. In 1936, the Supreme Court sided with Hamilton's interpretation in United States v. Butler, establishing that Congress can use the Taxing Clause independently of its other constitutional powers.
The power to tax is considered essential for effective government administration. While the primary purpose of taxation is to raise revenue for the government, Congress has also employed taxation for regulatory, prohibitive, and other purposes. Regulatory taxation, for example, aims to regulate commerce, while prohibitive taxation seeks to discourage or suppress certain types of commerce. The power to tax implicitly includes the power to spend the resulting revenues to achieve government objectives.
The scope of Congress's taxing power is not unlimited and has been curtailed by the courts on certain occasions. For instance, the Free Speech Clause restricts Congress from taxing individuals solely because they criticise the federal government. Additionally, the Supreme Court has issued rulings that limit Congress's power to pass legislation under the commerce clause or other powers granted by Article I, Section 8, in favour of states' rights.
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