Congressional resistance - instigated mainly by the Republican dominated House of Representatives - has put President Obama in a position where if he wants to implement his agenda he has to make use of executive tolls that allow him to act without Congressional authorization.
The Hill details the controversies associated with this move - and also puts it in perspective. Is Obama doing anything previous presidents have not done? Republicans will of course say yes - but there's no consensus on whether this is the case. The article outlines this argument. I recommend a quick read to catch up with the current state of executive power. Remember that the executive has consistently gathered strength over the course of American history - so there's little surprise that this trend may be continuing. Putting it in proper - non partisan - perspective can be a chore though.
- Click here for the article.
The Hill details the controversies associated with this move - and also puts it in perspective. Is Obama doing anything previous presidents have not done? Republicans will of course say yes - but there's no consensus on whether this is the case. The article outlines this argument. I recommend a quick read to catch up with the current state of executive power. Remember that the executive has consistently gathered strength over the course of American history - so there's little surprise that this trend may be continuing. Putting it in proper - non partisan - perspective can be a chore though.
- Click here for the article.
President Obama's aggressive use of administrative power is testing the boundaries of executive authority on several fronts.
Obama throughout his presidency has pushed the envelope on recess appointments, prosecutorial discretion and the way his administration executes laws, drawing resistance from the other two branches of government.
Experts say Obama's tactics are not unusual and note he has issued fewer executive orders than many of his predecessors. But congressional Republicans counter it is the content, not the number, of presidential directives that has them up in arms.. . . In remarks Friday at House Democrats’ annual retreat, Obama said he would prefer to work with Congress than act unilaterally.
“But, I'm not going to wait, because there's too much to do,” he said. “And America does not believe in standing still.”
In recent days, Obama signed an executive order effectively raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors, while his administration extended additional legal rights to same sex couples and issued new banking guidelines for legal pot businesses, among other contentious actions.
“All modern presidents have done this,” said Kenneth Mayer, a University of Wisconsin political science professor who has studied the presidency extensively. “All presidents utilize the tools of executive power to implement policies.”
To be sure, Obama is not the first president to be accused of overstepping the bounds of his authority — a point emphasized Friday by White House press secretary Jay Carney, who said, “It is funny to hear Republicans get upset about the suggestion the president might use legally available authorities … when, obviously, they supported a president who used executive authorities quite widely.”
But the same point could be made in reverse. President George W. Bush faced an onslaught of criticism from Democrats in response to “signing statements” used to expound his administration’s interpretations of hundreds of laws passed by Congress.
. . .In the House, Rice is leading a more aggressive rebuke to Obama’s executive power play. His "Stop This Overreaching Presidency" Resolution directing the House to file a federal lawsuit challenging four executive actions has attracted more than 100 co-sponsors.
The lawsuit would challenge the employer mandate delay and the 2011 decision to stop certain deportations after the Dream Act failed to gain traction in Congress. Also targeted are the extension of "substandard" insurance policies that would otherwise have been canceled under the Affordable Care Act, and a waiver of welfare work requirements under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
Before hearing the case, a court would have to find that the House has standing to sue over the actions. A Congressional Research Service analysis conducted for Rice late last year found that such a lawsuit might clear that hurdle.
“It appears likely that a one-house resolution specifically authorizing such judicial recourse would satisfy this authorization requirement,” the nonpartisan CRS concluded.
Regardless of the fate of that measure, the courts will be the final arbiter of whether Obama’s actions have exceeded the power of his office.
