II.

Powers of Congress

The Constitution of the United States grants Congress “all legislative powers” in the national government. Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution lists a wide range of congressional powers, including printing money, maintaining a military, declaring war, and regulating interstate and foreign commerce. Congress also controls federal taxing and spending policies—one of the most important sources of power in the government. The Constitution also gives Congress the authority to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper,” an implied source of power sometimes called the Elastic Clause.

One of the most important implied powers is Congress’s authority to investigate and oversee the executive branch and its agencies, such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice. As part of this responsibility, which is known as oversight, Congress summons senior officials to answer questions from members, orders audits of agencies, and holds hearings to air grievances of citizens.

Congress also holds hearings on matters of general public concern. Sometimes members of Congress conduct these hearings to identify problems that create a need for new laws. In other cases Congress holds hearings to raise public awareness about an issue. Sometimes members of Congress conduct hearings in an effort to bolster their reputations and improve their election prospects.

Congress reviews the professional conduct of its own members but usually punishes only the most egregious violations of House and Senate rules. Congress certifies the election results of its own members as submitted by state officials. Certification is usually routine.

Some congressional powers remain rarely used. Congress can impeach the president and other federal officials for treason, bribery, and other serious offenses, but it rarely does so. Although members of Congress discuss impeachment from time to time and have initiated proceedings in many cases, there have been only 14 formal impeachment trials. Of the 14 officials tried, only half were convicted and removed from office. The House of Representatives votes on whether to charge officials with impeachable offenses. If the House votes to impeach, then the Senate conducts the impeachment trial itself. The vice president of the United States presides over the Senate during impeachment proceedings, except when the president is impeached. In an impeachment of the president, the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. A two-thirds majority vote of senators present at an impeachment trial is necessary to secure conviction.

In 1868 President Andrew Johnson was impeached on charges of defying the authority of Congress and of violating a federal law, the recently enacted Tenure of Office Act. Johnson was acquitted by a single vote, but his victory established the precedent that presidents should not face impeachment for purely political reasons. In 1974 the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment (charges) against President Richard Nixon, who soon resigned rather than face further congressional action based on his involvement in the Watergate scandal. In 1998 the House passed two articles of impeachment, for lying under oath and obstruction of justice, against President Bill Clinton amid a scandal surrounding his affair with a young White House intern. Following a brief trial in early 1999, the Senate declined to convict him. See Impeachment: The Clinton Trial.

Congress also rarely uses its power to amend the Constitution. The Constitution permits Congress to propose new constitutional amendments through a two-thirds vote of both chambers, which then must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. The difficulty of amending the Constitution stops Congress from proposing new amendments very often.

Congress shares many powers with the president. Congress takes equal responsibility with the president in framing U.S. foreign policy. The president and his representatives negotiate treaties with other countries, but the treaties go into effect only when the Senate approves them. Similarly, the president appoints ambassadors, federal judges, and many other government officials, but they must be confirmed by the Senate.

Congress also shares control over the military with the president. Congress has the authority to declare war and provide funding for soldiers and weapons, but the president serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Congress has declared war on five occasions: the War of 1812 against Britain (1812-1815), the Mexican War (1846-1848), the Spanish-American War (1898), World War I (1914-1918; U.S. involvement 1917-1918), and World War II (1939-1945; U.S. involvement 1941-1945). In more than 200 other instances, however, presidents have sent armed forces into hostile situations in other countries to protect U.S. lives or property, without a declaration of war. Many of these were brief rescue or peacekeeping missions. Some, such as the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1959-1975), were full-blown conflicts.