Bar Exam Practice 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The correct answer highlights the powers that are explicitly detailed in the Constitution, often referred to as enumerated or expressed powers. These are the powers that Congress is specifically authorized to execute, such as the power to tax, regulate commerce, declare war, and maintain an army. They are listed in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which clearly delineates the scope of Congress’s authority.

Implied powers, on the other hand, are not specifically mentioned in the Constitution but are derived from the enumerated powers through the Necessary and Proper Clause. Concurrent powers refer to those powers that both the federal and state governments can exercise, such as the power to levy taxes. Residual powers refer to those powers that are not specifically granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states and are primarily inferred from the Tenth Amendment. While these other types of powers are important to the framework of U.S. governance, they do not represent the specifically listed powers granted to Congress, which is the focal point of the question.