Final answer:
Congress has extensive powers that include creating laws, declaring war, raising and supporting military forces, and taxing and borrowing money. It also has authority over naturalization, trade, and the postal service, among other responsibilities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Congress’s Authority
The United States Congress is vested with a number of significant powers. Perhaps the most well-known of these is creating laws, a fundamental aspect of governing the country. Congress also holds the authority to declare war, which is a critical component of the nation's defense and foreign policy strategies. Moreover, Congress can raise and support armies as well as provide and maintain a navy, ensuring that the United States has the military capacity to protect itself and its interests.
In addition to these responsibilities, Congress can coin and borrow money, regulate commerce with other nations, create the postal service, establish lower federal courts, and determine the processes of naturalization. It has the power to collect taxes, necessary to fund various government services, and to set standards for citizenship. Congress is also entrusted with the ability to create post offices, regulate copyright and patents, and to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" for carrying the execution of its powers. All revenue-raising bills must originate in the House of Representatives, embodying the principle of no taxation without representation.
Other powers of Congress include the ability to dispose of and make rules regarding the territory or other property of the United States and the right to punish piracy and felonies committed on the high seas. Furthermore, Congress can employ privateers through letters of marque when national interests are at stake, though such practices are more historical in nature. These powers showcase the comprehensive authority Congress has to govern and to react to various needs and challenges the country faces.