HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Implied Powers, Enumerated Powers
6 Jun 2018
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The Powers of Congress
Under the Constitution, Congress has both specific and implied powers. These powers have been
expanded through the amendment process as well as by Congress's own legislative action.
Moreover, both houses are granted authority in certain areas.
Specific powers
Congress is given 27 specific powers under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. These are
commonly known as the enumerated powers, and they cover such areas as the rights to collect
taxes, regulate foreign and domestic commerce, coin money, declare war, support an army and
navy, and establish lower federal courts. In addition, Congress can admit new states to the Union
(Article IV, Section 3), propose amendments to the Constitution (Article V), collect federal
income taxes (Sixteenth Amendment), and enforce protection and extension of civil rights
(Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth
amendments).
Implied powers
Implied powers are not stated directly in the Constitution. They derive from the right of Congress
to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its enumerated powers. Located at the end
of Article I, Section 8, this sentence is often called the elastic clause because it stretches the
authority of Congress. The Supreme Court upheld the concept of implied powers in the landmark
case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), ruling that the federal government had the right to establish
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