Powers of Congress

Making Federal Law

Article I, Section 8 lists Congress’s powers: to tax and spend, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, establish post offices, grant patents and copyrights, create lower federal courts, set naturalization and bankruptcy rules, raise and fund the military, and declare war. These are enumerated powers — the federal government has only the powers the Constitution grants, and the Tenth Amendment reserves the rest to the states and the people. How a proposal actually moves is on How a Bill Becomes a Law.

Taxing and Spending

No money can be drawn from the Treasury except by law. That single sentence makes the power of the purse Congress’s strongest tool. Spending takes two separate steps:

About a quarter of federal spending runs through the twelve annual appropriations bills; most of the rest — Social Security, Medicare, interest on the debt — is mandatory spending that continues under existing law. When appropriations lapse, the result is a shutdown. Tax bills must begin in the House, though the Senate may amend them freely. Congress can also attach conditions to federal grants, within limits the Court described in South Dakota v. Dole.

Regulating Commerce

The power to regulate commerce “among the several States” is the basis for much of modern federal law — workplace rules, environmental protection, civil-rights protections in businesses, drug regulation. Its reach has swung with the Court: broad in Wickard v. Filburn (1942) and Heart of Atlanta Motel (1964), with firmer limits drawn in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012).

War and Foreign Affairs

Congress declares war, raises and funds the armed forces, and makes the rules governing them; the President commands them. The line between the two has been disputed for two centuries. Congress hasn’t formally declared war since World War II, relying instead on authorizations for use of military force, and it passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973 to require the President to consult Congress and withdraw forces absent approval. Presidents of both parties have contested parts of it. Congress also regulates foreign trade, sets tariffs by statute, and must fund any foreign policy that costs money.

Advice and Consent

The Senate — not the House — approves the people who run the government and the treaties that bind it:

Nominations

Cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, federal judges, and roughly 1,200 other senior positions require Senate confirmation by majority vote.

Committee review

The committee with jurisdiction holds hearings and votes before the full Senate considers a nominee.

Treaties

Treaties need two-thirds of senators present. Many international agreements are instead made by statute or executive agreement.

For how judicial nominations work in detail, see Federal Judges.

Vetoes and Overrides

Every bill that passes both chambers goes to the President, who has ten days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto it. A vetoed bill returns to Congress, where it becomes law anyway if two-thirds of both the House and Senate vote to override. Overrides are rare — building a two-thirds coalition across both chambers is hard, so the veto threat alone often reshapes bills before they pass. If Congress adjourns and prevents a bill’s return, an unsigned bill dies by pocket veto. The President’s side of this is covered on Veto Power.

The Necessary and Proper Clause

Limits on Congress

Congress’s powers are broad but not unlimited. The Bill of Rights restricts what laws it can pass; the courts can strike down laws that exceed its powers (see Judicial Review); the President can veto; states retain powers the Constitution doesn’t give the national government; and voters can replace every House member every two years.