Section 8: Powers of Congress The Congress shall have 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; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; Herein are expressed explicit and implicit powers; implied, such as drafting people to raise an army. There are also inherent powers which are not granted by the Constitution, such as regulating immigration.
One of the most important powers given Congress is the
power to tax. This may seem like a bad thing at this point in history, and when the word "taxation" is mentioned, it often touches a raw nerve. However, under the
Articles of Confederation, Congress did not have the authority to collect taxes; therefore, it could only ask the states nicely for funds, which didn't work, and the nation went deep into debt. So like it or not, we don't have much of a choice other than being taxed because few people are volunteering to fund public roads, schools, and protection.
Congress, as we know, also has the
power to spend. To many this is a moot point, but it must do so to "
provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States ." Really difficult to do without raising funds. However, along with raising funds, it may even regulate economic activity as it did in 1984 when it held back highway funding for states that did not raise the drinking age to twenty-one. You can see here the obvious need for separation of powers, term limits, impeachment or dismissal from office, and so on. Keeping power under control is an essential element of the Constitution, once again.
According to
Section 8, when Congress is taxing citizens with "
duties, imposts, and excises" it must do so in a uniform fashion. Imagine the complexity and the number of miffed citizens if done otherwise.
To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; Another thing Congress can do is
borrow money, much to your chagrin, I know. And there is no set limit to the amount to be borrowed, as we know. However, if there were a set limit or dollar figure, it would have had to been Kreskinish in nature, a virtual seeing into the future by the Founding Fathers. True even with a percentage.
As you contemplate this point, you truly get to see not only the malleable nature of the Constitution and the brilliance of those who composed it but the difficulties as well. Here was a group of men who had to consider the fact that this document may just last, if fortunate, a couple hundred years or so. And yes, there were Founding Fathers who believed that the document may not last nor the country it laid down the law of the land for.
To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes; Now we get to the
Commerce Clause. From the end of the 19 th century into the 20 th , the Supreme Court worked to limit Congress's ability to regulate the economy. Then beginning in the 1930s and continuing several decades, Congress flip flopped (See, it's not only politicians who do so).
However, in 1937, the Supreme Court began to support the New Deal and its greater regulating of the economy. Some say this happened because Franklin Roosevelt, out of frustration with the Court's previous rulings, filled the Court with his own nominees. But the 1930s were a time of unrest economically and internationally, and within this great uncertainty, the Supreme Court may have just been relinquishing power to a much needed leader, as many have turned to leaders in dire times of need throughout history.
Now keeping in mind our theme of change and adaptation, the Court changed directions again with decisions in 1995 and 2000. Allegedly, the Supreme Court said that there was not a sufficient connection with interstate commerce when Congress passed a law creating gun-free school zones and the Violence Against Women Act.
And to this you say WHAT?!
I do too. How or why these issues should be connected to commerce is beyond me. I suppose I should read up on it, but I've got better things to do with my time. Like feed my family. Anyway, for some reason these concerns were brought before the Court under the
Commerce Clause. Maybe I'm missing something here, but just call me an old knucklehead who can't figure out the greater minds of Court and Congress. Next Senators and Representative will be trying to seek monies from China under the Compensation for Services Clause. Good luck. I couldn't even get 10,000 bucks out of my Dad for services rendered at the age of 22 (I mowed his lawn, hoping he'd help with a loan; hey, I was no longer an independent, he should've paid up).
Now we have the clause which states that Congress should "
establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States ."
When the Constitution was established, there was no definition of citizenship. However, the 14 th Amendment took care of that. However, this passage does give Congress the power to enact laws governing immigration and naturalization. And there were big mistakes made along the way because of this power, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) which was the first federal law that restricted immigration.
But what's interesting about immigration is something many are not specifically aware of that is stated in the 5 th Amendment. Here one will find the
Due Process Clause which protects even illegal immigrants. Because of this clause, the INS cannot indefinitely detain deportable immigrants who can't get back to their countries. There are other inherent rights of illegals that are protected by the Constitution, but we'll get to those as we go.
Congress, according to
Article 8, can also
"coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures." Enough said about that. Let's get to the more interesting stuff.
Counterfeiting.
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States ; The States can't coin money (even though they used to under the Articles of Confederation, which has added considerably to the portfolios of coin collectors) and neither can you. But I know some of you have over the years. I've seen your counterfeit stocks, bonds, paper money, and coins. Some of it was very impressive. However, keep in mind the punishment if you do so.
"Under federal law, counterfeiting is a class C felony, punishable by up to 12 years in prison and/or a fine of as much as $250,000. State laws also establish penalties for counterfeiting." (law dot jrank dot org)
It doesn't specifically say how much you need to produce or what number of coins, paper money, and so on or if it gets worse for you the more you counterfeit, and, once again, I suppose I could look this up but . . . Well, you know. Anyway, the best thing to do here is to just say no to all your buddies who suggest doing so even if the stock market is about to crash and government bailouts are dysfunctional.
Section 8 also tells us citizens that the Congress can "
establish Post Offices and post Road." Not a lot here, so let's move on.
Congress should also-as many of you know but may not know the source of the "why
"-"promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for a limited Times for Authors and investors the exclusive Right of their respective writings and Discoveries." All this, of course, is to promote innovation and creativity, which the Congress has done a good job of, for the majority of winners of The Nobel Prize come from the United States. For example, as of 2008, The Nobel, a Swedish prize, has been awarded to 309 Americans. Second in line is the United Kingdom with 114; third is Germany with 101; fourth is France with 57.
But don't think that the total for the US is considerable merely because the populace is large, for if you look at some other large countries like Japan (16), China (3) and India (8), you can see the numbers are way down by comparison. So even though Americans complain school years in this country are too short in comparison to many other countries all that free time does lend itself to the incubation of considerable creative thought. Good job, Congress!
To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; Section 8 allows Congress to create courts under the Supreme Court, such as appellate and federal district courts. We'll get more into all this Court stuff in Article III.
Congress can also
"define and punish Piracies and Felonies on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations." Here we seea rare occasion when Congress can enact criminal laws. Congress will also respect international law, in some respects, but it also has the power to process those who encroach upon international law according to its own standards and desires.
Congress can also
"declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water." According to this statement, Congress declares war and then the president makes the military decisions. But Congress rarely declares war; it's usually the president. And sometimes neither declare war, at least officially, such is the case with the Korean War and Vietnam War. This is why the
War Powers Act was passed in 1973, thus limiting the president's power to declare war and put Congress back in control. However, many presidents have simply ignored the act as the Supreme Court was unwilling to rule in these cases.
Letters of marquee and reprisal deal with attacking an enemy ship and not being punished as a Captain Jack type character-a pirate for you landlubbers. Not applicable in this day-n-age. We don't make many captures on sea any more. If we do, I'll go back and rewrite this section.
Moving on.
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; to provide and maintain a Navy; to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; to provide for the calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel invasions; Basically
? The Colonists hated standing armies or regulars like the Red Coats. Remember the Boston Massacre? Yes, a standing army that killed five colonists. During these times, of course, standing armies were placed amongst the colonists without their say, so memories die hard. Another reason for term limits (2 years). But at the same time, Congress knew that people are people not angels, or at least of the benevolent variety. It's the fallen angel types that Congress was guarding against when they talked about suppressing "Insurrections and repel invasions." Our Militia, now the National Guard, is to be called forth in these times of need.
OK, let's talk US Capitol. What's that mean? Here, read this.
