Question

Which of the following reflects Congress acting on an implied power in the Constitution?

-ordering the creation of a new design for a quarter coin
-approving the spreading of funds for new army vehicle
-creating a set of national standards for public schools
-making a change to the rates charged for income tax

Answer 1

Congress is given no implied powers by the Constitution. It says so itself, in the text of the Tenth Amendment:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Got that? If the Constitution doesn't EXPLICITLY give Congress a power, it doesn't have it -- it's reserved to the states, or to the people. Full stop, no exceptions. Can't be plainer. Anyone who asserts the Constitution gives Congress "implied" powers is either ignorant or in the grips of revisionist ideology, and in either case should not be allowed to teach primary school.