As the 112th Congress gets started this week, we should all keep in mind what the Constitution says they are authorized to do. Remember, the Constitution was designed to limit the government. If a power is NOT enumerated in the constitution for government, they are not supposed to have the authority to do it. That authority would fall to the individual states. So for your reference is Article I of the Constitution where all the legislative powers are spelled out. If you want to get right to the meat of what the congress can do, skip down to Sections 7,8,9 and 10.