Powers of the United States Congress

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; 9.

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations; 11.

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; 12.

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; 16.

Article III Section 2 allows Congress to create exceptions and regulations to the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and to make laws directing the place of trials of crimes committed outside of a state.

The Twenty-third Amendment gives Congress the power to direct the manner in which the District of Columbia appoints electors.

Congress has exclusive authority over financial and budgetary matters, through the enumerated 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.

[6] In Helvering v. Davis, the Supreme Court affirmed Social Security as an exercise of the power of Congress to spend for the general welfare.

Also, in Wickard v Filburn it was held that the Section 8 power "To regulate commerce…among the several states" gave Congress the authority to limit the amount of wheat that a farmer could grow in order to feed animals on his own farm, even though this activity was not commerce and was not interstate, because such activities by private individuals had a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce in wheat, even though only indirectly.

[10] The Supreme Court affirmed in Watkins v. United States that "[the] power of the Congress to conduct investigations is inherent in the legislative process" and that "[it] is unquestionably the duty of all citizens to cooperate with the Congress in its efforts to obtain the facts needed for intelligent legislative action.

"[11] Some critics have charged that Congress has in some instances failed to do an adequate job of overseeing the other branches of government.

[13] Although the Constitution gives Congress an important role in national defense, including the exclusive power to declare war, to raise and maintain the armed forces, and to make rules for the military,[14] some critics charge that the executive branch has usurped Congress's Constitutionally-defined task of declaring war.

[19][20] Disagreement about the extent of congressional versus presidential power regarding war has been present periodically throughout the nation's history.

It passed the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, which allowed the president to oversee and restrict commerce and impose tariffs or sanctions whenever there is an ongoing war.

In 1962, it passed the Trade Expansion Act allowing the president to impose and adjust tariffs on articles that threaten national security.

In the past, Congress explicitly gave or withheld consent, such as when it refused to allow Andrew Jackson to receive a gold medal from Venezuela or when it allowed Abraham Lincoln to receive elephant tusks and a sword from Siam and place them with the Interior Department.

Building with dome; pond in front.
Congress meets in the United States Capitol.
Painting of men in a formal political meeting.
Former US general George Washington presided over the signing of the United States Constitution which included Alexander Hamilton , Benjamin Franklin , and James Madison .
$100,000 bill.
Congress has the power of the purse and it can tax citizens, spend money, and authorize the printing of currency such as this bill for $100,000.
Building with columns behind trees.
An enumerated congressional power is to establish post offices including this one in Athens, Georgia , pictured in 1942.
Seven men wearing suits posing for a group picture.
Congress has the power to impeach officials including the president . In 1868, this committee were the House managers in the impeachment trial of president Andrew Johnson who was almost convicted; Johnson stayed in office.
Seated man in suit posing for picture.
Representative John A. Bingham of Ohio was a principal framer of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Seated suits behind a microphone.
One congressional power is oversight of other branches of the government. In the early 1970s, the Senate investigated the activities of President Richard Nixon regarding Watergate which led to the president's resignation.
Aircraft carrier at sea.
Congress authorizes defense spending.