Article I - Legislative Branch
Congress enacts laws, levies taxes, declares war
📜Constitutional Law🏢Legislative Process
Article I, Section 1 vests 'all legislative Powers' in Congress.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 authorizes Congress to 'lay and collect Taxes' and to appropriate money for the common defence and general welfare.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 authorizes Congress to 'regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States'.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 gives Congress the authority to 'declare War'. Formal declarations are rare; the last formal declarations were during World War II.
Congressional oversight is not a single clause in Article I. It arises from implied powers and is enforced by committee investigations, subpoena authority, appropriations, and impeachment.
📜Constitutional Law🏢Legislative Process
Test Your Knowledge
10
Q1
Article I says bills must pass committees—why do most of the 9,643 bills introduced in the current Congress die in committee without ever reaching a floor vote?
Q2
The Constitution requires a simple majority to pass laws—so why does the Senate need 60 votes?
Q3
Article I gives Congress power to 'regulate Commerce'—why has Congress failed to pass federal data privacy laws while 20 states enacted their own by 2026?
Q4
Article I gives only Congress the power to appropriate money—can the president refuse to spend funds Congress approved?
Q5
Article I requires Congress to pass appropriations bills—why has the government been shut down since October 1, 2025, and why did Congress pass three CRs for FY 2025?
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Start QuizPeople, bills, and sources
Congressional Leadership (Speaker Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Schumer)
Legislature
The House of Representatives
Lower chamber of Congress
The Senate
Upper chamber of Congress
The President
Executive