"All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."
Comment: The framers did not want power combined in any one governmental department - the framers instead wanted Separation of Powers. As a result, Articles I, II, III of the Constitution vests the legislative, executive, and judicial power – each in a separate department of the federal government. Moreover, the Constitution’s scheme is one of enumerated powers. To that end, the only law making power permitted of Congress are those “herein granted” by the Constitution. Remember that the powers assigned to each branch were to remain within that branch (called the Nondelegation Doctrine), which is central to separation and accountability. As a result, the Constitution states that “All legislative Powers...shall be vested in a Congress,” not the executive or judicial branches. However, the Supreme Court has failed to prevent the delegation of legislative powers to the executive branch (through its agencies that adopt and enforce regulations); and as a result, the separation and accountability as originally designed under the Constitution has been greatly compromised.
Primary Source - The Heritage Guide to the Constitution.
