Unit 5; Powers and functions of congress

Enumerated powers

Congress can control the money (tax), Declare war, raise an army, etc

ONLY _______ can propose new laws

Congress

ONLY _________ can start bills that involve spending money (appropriation bills)

the house

______ has final say on presidential nominations and treaties (supreme court justices and cabinet members)

Senate

Implied powers

Taken form the Necessary and Proper clause and the Commerce Clause

Atlanta Motel v. United States

The Court ruled that Congress could use the Commerce Clause to regulate private businesses, if their operations affected interstate commerce.

• The Court found that racial discrimination by them impeded interstate travel and therefore had a substantial impact on interstate commerce

Inherent powers

considered essential for the government to function effectively and maintain its authority.

• powers that a government possesses simply by virtue of its existence as a sovereign entity, not because they are explicitly listed in a constitution or granted by another authority

McCulloch v. Maryland

Congress created a national bank which was not stated in the cons. Maryland tried to tax it, stating the federal government didn’t have the power to create a national bank.

• Congress has implied powers under the Necessary & Proper Clause to create a national bank and states cannot tax a federal institution.

• National Supremacy: Federal Law > State law