Where is the Air Force on that list of powers? The Department of Veterans Affairs? Department of State? Federal Aviation Administration? Environmental Protection Agency? The Coast Guard? The FBI? And on and on and on.
For several of these, the answer would be "provide for the common defense" specificallay enumerated as a power of the federal government.
In my last post I dealt with the Air Force question. Same argument for Veterans Affairs and the Coast Guard. The State Department just formalizes the President's grant of power over foreign affairs. The FAA is probably justified by the Interstate Commerce clause, but that's a stretch. It could be handled privately, and I'd prefer that.
I think the FBI originally flowed from the power given to Congress under the prohibition amendment (number 18). The amendment said: "Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." It's obsolete now, and with the repeal of prohibition it's probably Unconstitutional; but I suspect it's too late to do much about it.
Exactly. A very good point. But you know there are so many others allowed in that list of powers, that shouldn't even be there period!