Definition: Implied powers is a legal doctrine that identifies a particular implicit authority granted to U.S. Congress that allows it to carry on with its duties adequately. They are political powers that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but that are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of this branch in an ever-evolving environment.
What Does Implied Power Mean?
The implied powers doctrine is based on the provision contained in Article One, Section 8 Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution that establishes that Congress has the power to make laws that are necessary and proper to carry on with its own explicit powers.
Differently from powers clearly granted by the Constitution, the implicit powers are those that serve as the tool to maintain the explicit one’s effectiveness. In the event that these explicit duties are being partially or totally blocked by certain provisions, the implicit clause allows the Congress to write a law that takes out the obstacle in order to allow an adequate deliverance of its duties.
This legal principle was proposed by Alexander Hamilton during President George Washington’s administration and was effectively include in the previously mentioned clause and ratified through common law in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819, involving the Second Bank of the United States.
Example
Let’s say hypothetically that the U.S. Congress approved a certain housing program. This program includes a subsidy granted to families with an income of less than $30,000 a year. Nevertheless, in order to proceed with the program for these families there is a road block, since banks are not willing to lend money to them.
Given that the Congress has the implied power to regulate the legal framework of the banking system, they could also create a law that establishes a federal fund to cover for potential default situations in such loans. This law will serve as the right incentive for the banks to lend money to these families, since the loans are now backed up by the U.S. Government.
