Administration again bypassing Congress |
| April 27, 2014 |
|
By Congressman Raul Labrador Last week, President Obama and Attorney General Holder once again showed their disregard for our nation’s laws and their refusal to follow the system of checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution. This time, the Administration is eroding our criminal justice system with an unprecedented action - soliciting applications for clemency from a specific class of federal offenders: in this case, non-violent drug offenders. According to the Administration, many of these offenders are serving disproportionally long prison terms. I agree that we need to rethink how we sentence first time non-violent drug offenders. The problem is that the Administration is taking this action without Congressional authorization. Only Congress has the power to change our criminal sentencing laws, but the Administration is moving ahead without us. The irony is that I have already introduced legislation to bring common sense to our criminal sentencing laws, empowering judges to determine, on an individual basis, whether the harshest sentences should apply for certain non-violent offenders. The name of my bill is the Smarter Sentencing Act, and have I introduced it with my colleague, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). Today, it has 26 cosponsors in both parties. A Senate version of the bill – introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has already passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. Organizations from across the political spectrum have endorsed our bill – the NAACP, the ACLU, Heritage Action, the Constitution Project, among many others. And yet – despite the bipartisan work that’s already been achieved, and despite the momentum that we’ve managed to create – the Administration refuses to work with us. They’ve chosen to go off on their own, break the law, and further erode whatever trust still exists between Congress and the White House. I confronted Attorney General Holder about this strategy at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month. I told Mr. Holder, “One area where we agree is on the Smarter Sentencing Act… [but] you make my job more difficult when you act unilaterally - as you have…and try to do the same thing through memos that we’re trying to accomplish through this legislation…So I’m extending to you my hand right now, to work with you to help pass the Smarter Sentencing Act. But could you please help me try to pass the Smarter Sentencing Act by not going around the law…but actually working with Congress?” The Attorney General didn’t really answer my question. And the action he took this week - reassigning dozens of attorneys to his Pardon Attorney’s Office to accommodate the expected surge in clemency applications – shows that he is not serious about working with Congress and getting the job done. I really don’t understand the logic of this Administration. Even in situations where Republicans and Democrats are working together in a bipartisan way to implement policies that the Administration itself favors – and even in situation where we are making progress in achieving a common goal – the Administration decides to act unilaterally, go around Congress, and prevent us from achieving a real, long-term solution I will continue to champion the Smarter Sentencing Act – it’s a good bill and I’m proud of the support it’s getting from across the political spectrum – but the Administration is making it harder, not easier, to make it the law of the land. And on bigger issues – from health care to immigration to the debt – it’s impossible to see much progress until the President starts acting in a more transparent and responsible way. |